


Somewhere Between Love And Abuse

by Saremina



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Consensual But Not Safe Or Sane, Drinking, Everyone Is A Consenting Adult, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Minor Original Character(s), Past Harley/Joker - Freeform, Recreational Drug Use, Smoking, but when is anything with Joker involved?, some canon characters make appearances too, weirdly domestic fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-08 23:02:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 139,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7777117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saremina/pseuds/Saremina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s like a beginning of a bad joke, the kind that people laugh at but nobody finds funny. Bruce Wayne goes to a bar to find out if the rumors about a new smuggler operating from the place are true and ends up getting drunk with Joker. It has to be a joke.</p><p>or</p><p>Bruce tries to date Joker and keep him from finding out he's Batman at the same time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So a while back I was joking about Bruce and Joker hooking up before Joker knows he's Batman, and how Bruce is going to explain all the cuts and bruises and scars he gets from being Bats, and the whole thing just snowballed from there. And then I started writing this for fun as a way to work around a writers block. I had fun trying to figure out how Joker would try to get Bruce Wayne into bed without knowing he's Batman, and how Bruce would react to that.
> 
> This is also probably the one of the most romcom like things I'll ever write for this pairing ever so don't expect this to be like, super serious or anything.
> 
> Also I should point out this is something I wrote for fun when I was having a writers block, so this isn't my absolute best work but I did enjoy writing this and I like sharing stuff that makes me happy so here you go. Except for my dog, nobody gets my dog.

The air is heavy with smoke, and the smell of cheap cigarettes and alcohol cling to every surface of the small bar, ingrained to the old wood as deeply as the dark stains on the floor everybody pretends isn’t blood.

The alleged smuggler Bruce had been hoping to lay eyes on never showed up, and Bruce is ready to go home as soon as he finishes his drink. He sticks out of the crowd even though he’s dressed in his most inconspicuous clothes and he’s doing everything he can to not draw attention to himself as he sits in the far end of the counter with a tumbler in his hands. He keeps his eyes cast to the cheap whiskey in the glass and listens to the chatter around him, mixing with the soft tune playing on the old stereo. It’s welcoming to anyone who fits in the crowd.

Bruce doesn’t notice Joker until he’s leaning on the counter, ordering a mojito and thanking Bruce for paying. He looks like a tiger that’s just spotted it’s next prey and Bruce almost jumps out of sheer surprise of seeing him there. Alfred would be proud of Bruce’s self control as he reminds himself that Bruce Wayne, a billionaire and a philanthropist, can't smack the face of the reigning ruler of Gotham's underworld against the sticky surface of the counter no matter how much he wants to.

So Bruce plays the part of an ordinary citizen and hands the bartender more money even as his heart hammers in his chest and his body tenses, ready to fight if he needs to, but Joker just gives Bruce his most charming smile and tilts his head to get a better looks at Bruce’s face.

"So what drove Bruce Wayne to a place like this?" He asks, leaning into Bruce's personal space just enough to be in it but not enough that Bruce can justify backing away. Bruce grinds his teeth together and scans the dim room for an escape. He didn't prepare for this and he doesn't know what Joker wants. It's like a verbal minefield.

And Joker is still giving him that sweet saccharine smile of his.

"I wanted to get a drink without someone taking my picture," Bruce replies and raises his tumbler. He tries to smile but it feels so forced it has to show on his face so he drops it.

"Well in that case you've come to the right place. They take all nosy journalists to the back and give them a crash course in baseball," Joker says as he studies Bruce closely with calculating eyes.

Bruce downs his drink as fast as he can without appearing like he's in a hurry. "I should be going. Got an important meeting in the morning and I don't want to be tired for it," Bruce says and gives Joker one last forced smile as he stands up and sets his tumbler on the counter.

Joker moves fast, and his knife digs into the wood between Bruce’s fingers before Bruce fully comprehends what is happening. The cool blade grazes against his skin and leaves a burning trail on its wake. Bruce keeps himself from grabbing Joker’s throat and choking him into consciousness.

The imitation of kindness Joker had shown just seconds earlier has been replaced with a grin that’s all teeth and malice, and Bruce barely has the time to think there's the real him before the sweet smile slips back on his face as he laughs softly.

"Have a drink with me first," Joker says and despite the kind look on his face his voice makes it clear Bruce doesn't have a choice. He’s got Bruce trapped and they both know it, and he’s enjoying every second of Bruce’s struggle against the fear threatening to cloud his mind.

"A drink," Bruce repeats. "Okay. I can do that," he agrees and counts to ten as he breathes until his heart stops hammering against his rib cage. Joker eyes him for a second longer before pulling the knife out of the counter and finally leaning out of Bruce's space. He throws the generic white straw in his cocktail away while Bruce glances at his hand to see if he’s bleeding, and to his relief he got away with a scare this time.

"So get a drink and sit down. And relax, will you? You’re making me anxious," Joker says and shakes his head and looks at Bruce like he’s being stupid. Bruce does as he's told and sits on the rickety bar stool, and orders another shot of whiskey while he takes a look at the clock on his phone and wonders if he could alert Alfred to his situation. Joker huffs and hops on the seat next to Bruce. The bartender gives Bruce a sympathetic look.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Joker asks and his voice is a little too sweet to be nice. "Now tell me something about yourself," he continues and sips his mojito like he hadn’t just pulled a knife on Bruce. Worst of all he seems genuinely curious and Bruce wants to run as far away from him as he can.

"I'd bore you," Bruce tries and does his best to look sheepish.

Joker takes a sip of his cocktail leaving lipstick stains on the glass, and Bruce wonders a little hysterically if Joker fixed his makeup just for him. "No. I want to get to know you. That's the whole point of having a drink with a new person, isn't it?" Joker frowns and drums his nails on the counter in a slow, steady rhythm.

Bruce raises his hands a little and hunches his shoulders as he leans away from Joker. "I'm really not very interesting but, um, I don't know." Bruce bites his lip and goes through all his opinions for an answer that will make Joker happy. "I backpacked through Europe once." It's not even a lie, he's just leaving out some details. Joker’s fingers still and some of the tension leaves Bruce’s body.

"That's interesting," Joker says as he leans closer to Bruce and sucks on his lower lip for a second before letting it go with a pop, leaving the red lipstick glistening with spit. It doesn’t smudge like Bruce wants it to.

"It wasn't really that special. People make it sound more fun than it actually is," Bruce says. "What about you?" He continues before Joker press him for details.

"I'm an open book," Joker replies and sips his drink with a thoughtful look. "Why? Is there something you wanna know?" It’s a dare and Bruce knows rising to it is dangerous, but he's never been all that concerned with his well being anyways. Besides, he’s never had the chance of talking with Joker out of his batsuit and the alcohol slowly clouding his mind makes it easier for him to let his curiosity take hold.

"Why are you talking to me?" Bruce asks, going for an easy start.

"Having a drink with a cute stranger in a seedy underground bar is on my to do list," Joker answers without hesitation. Bruce raises an eyebrow which prompts Joker to roll his eyes. "I have a to do list. One point is singing See You Later Alligator to Croc without getting mauled but I'm still working on that. So drinks with you it was."

"Glad I could help," Bruce mutters into his drink. Joker either doesn't hear him or he just doesn't care that Bruce would rather be anywhere else but there.

"Please don’t tell me you don’t have a to do list!” Joker stares at Bruce in exaggerated surprise, and it makes Bruce crack his first real if brief smile since Joker decided to take over his evening.

"I don't have a to do list," Bruce admits. Technically he's not even lying, Alfred keeps a list of things Bruce Wayne needs to do and Bruce keeps a list of things Batman needs to address, but for the sake of safety he is going to treat Batman as a completely separate being who has absolutely nothing to do with him.

"How do you live your life?" Joker asks like Bruce's lack of to do list is offending him on some deep personal level.

"I manage," Bruce replies and turns to Joker as the tension slowly leaves his body.

"Of course you do. You don't know any better," Joker sighs and pats Bruce's shoulder like some great tragedy had befallen him, and to his credit Bruce doesn't flinch. It's strange having Joker touch him without any malice or violence behind the act, and when Joker pulls his hand away it leaves Bruce’s skin hot and tingling with the loss of contact. Bruce looks down into his drink and pretends he doesn't miss the touch.

"We're getting a table," Joker decides without a warning and tells the bartender to get them another round of drinks. Bruce almost loses his balance when Joker yanks him by the arm to follow him, and he barely manages to grab his new drink before Joker drags him across the bar floor. It’s not surprising that the people around them throw themselves out of Joker's way but the power the man has is still something to marvel at. Bruce wonders if any of them work for Joker, but Joker is moving too fast for Bruce to get a good look around in the dim space.

Joker shoves Bruce into a corner booth and pushes him until Bruce is more or less pressed against the wall with nowhere to go before sliding next to him and making a happy little noise at his new pink straw. Bruce can feel the heat radiating from Joker and his heart beats a little faster when Joker’s leg brushes against his.

"And now what?" Bruce asks and his voice is unsure even to his own ear so there’s no way Joker misses it.

"Now we get wasted," Joker replies and gives Bruce a quick once over. "Why? Did you have something else in mind? I should warn you, I don't kiss on the first date." He winks and laughs at Bruce’s discomfort.

"I should be going home," Bruce tries but stops the second Joker's eyes darken. "Or not," he continues quickly to keep Joker from stabbing him again because there’s no way Bruce will go down without a fight, but he’d like to keep things as nonviolent as possible. He's not sure how he would explain Bruce Wayne taking Joker down to the other people let alone Joker, or if he even could take him on without his suit.

"Smart man," Joker says and focuses on his drink, and Bruce lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Tell me about the fundraiser a few weeks back, that sounds like an interesting story," Joker says as he plays with the pink straw he has in his cocktail. Bruce frowns and bites his lip as he tries to figure out what Joker is talking about. Then he remembers the fundraiser both Two-Face and Scarecrow had crashed and the argument the criminals had in the middle of the room. Bruce snorts before he can stop himself and Joker's attention zeroes in on him immediately.

So Bruce entertains Joker with a story which leads to Joker doubling over with laughter. Bruce gets them another round of drinks while he calms down.

Joker tells Bruce about an incident in Arkham where the inmates had started a food fight and an eyeball had been thrown at a nurse, and someone had lost an ear that was never recovered. To Bruce the most disturbing part of the story is the casual way Joker talks about Arkham, almost like some people talk about an ordinary day at work.

Joker gets Bruce progressively more drunk and even though Bruce protests to every other drink Joker won't hear it. On the upside Bruce ends up having something close to a good time, and though Joker has some serious issues with personal space Bruce works with it.

By the time Bruce decides it's time for him to go home Joker is almost in Bruce's lap, laughing at some joke Bruce didn't catch.

"I think we've had enough," Bruce says and taps Joker's shoulder to make sure he's still conscious.

"Lightweight," Joker mutters into Bruce's neck and erupts into another fit of giggles. Bruce hasn't got the slightest clue what's so funny but the sound of Joker's laughter warms something deep inside of him. It's not the kind of laugh Bruce doesn’t usually hear from him, there's no hint of madness or mania or cruelty in it. He sounds genuinely happy.

"I'm gonna be hungover in a meeting and when I screw up I'm blaming you," Bruce complains and tries to glare at Joker's head but he doesn't think his face is cooperating at the moment so he probably looks more goofy than serious. Joker nods and hums and slowly pulls himself upright.

"Okay. You go be hungover in your important meeting," Joker says in a surprisingly clear voice considering he can barely sit upright. Bruce is officially impressed.

"You're paying," Joker reminds Bruce before downing the last of his remaining cocktail and scuffling to his feet.

"I already did," Bruce says and follows Joker's example. He has to grab a hold of Joker to keep him from falling down, and if Bruce uses him for extra support then that's his prerogative.

Joker lets Bruce help him across the floor, though he stops at the door to wave behind them, confirming Bruce’s assumption that some of the customers are indeed Joker’s henchmen.

Joker doesn't object when Bruce starts walking him down the street towards the slightly better neighborhoods of the downtown. He sings off tune and tries to make his usual wide, dramatic movements but Bruce's hold on his arm is limiting him, causing him to almost lose his balance a few times.

"Where are we going?" Joker asks, his voice slurring slightly at the edges, and Bruce is sure if he'd let go of his arm he'd fall down. Bruce stops and looks around, only now realizing he's been leading his greatest enemy towards his penthouse. Bruce likes having a place to stay in the city, especially for the days he's been chasing criminals all night and he has to go to his day job at the Wayne Enterprises. It gives him an hour or so of extra sleep in the morning and Bruce will take what he can get on that front.

"My place I guess?" Bruce replies. He's past the point of caring about the obvious stupidity of what he's doing, and Joker's weight leaning on him isn't unpleasant.

"And what're we gonna do at your place?" Joker does a fairly good job at sounding suggestive but he almost falls down when he tries to match his pose to his voice. Bruce snorts and stumbles a little as he pulls Joker back against his side.

"Sleep," Bruce says and wraps an arm around Joker’s shoulders. "You can have the couch if you're nice." He smiles at Joker while telling himself that letting Joker walk away on his own might get him killed and calling the police would get Bruce killed, so he's really just picking the best opinion. Besides, Bruce can always crush a sedative to a glass of water and make Joker drink it.

"That's it? No taking advantage of my lowered inhibitions?" Joker’s disappointed pout makes Bruce laugh softly.

"I’m pretty sure you don't have much inhibitions anyway," Bruce says and gets a laugh from Joker.

"I s'pose so," he mumbles and wraps his arms around Bruce’s middle with a contented sigh and Bruce gets them walking again.

"But you still could've tried. I'd even let you get away with it," Joker continues after a minute.

"No." Bruce stumbles a little even though the cool air is slowly starting to clear his head. "Drunk sex is horrible. You feel like throwing up or you forget what you're doing and someone gets hurt or passes out and you get pissed 'cause you're so wasted you're lucky if you get anywhere near finishing off. And then you have to deal with a partner who's not happy," he continues without thinking and by the time his brain catches up with his mouth it's already too late and Joker is looking at him like he's the most adorable thing he's ever seen.

"I'm gonna assume you're speaking from experience," Joker says, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he stifles a laugh.

"Yeah. Wasn't that much fun," Bruce admits.

"And here I thought you were gonna say you're not into guys," Joker laughs and Bruce wants to slap himself for not thinking of that. They continue their slow journey towards Bruce's home while Joker makes remarks about everything he sees. Bruce nods along and even makes a comment or two himself.

"Can we get a cab? I don't wanna walk anymore," Joker whines three blocks down the road and Bruce is more than happy to comply. His legs feel heavy and at the pace they're going they'll never make it to the penthouse. Bruce drags Joker down one more block and waves down a cab. He has a sudden realization that the driver might call the cops on Joker and tries to decide if he should bribe the driver or forego the ride all together, but as soon as a cab pulls over and Joker yanks the door open and greets the driver by first name Bruce lets it go. He shouldn't be surprised, it's Joker and if one thing is certain it's that he always does the last thing Bruce expects him to do.

Bruce gives the driver his address and slumps down on the worn down seat. Joker lets his head fall on Bruce's shoulder and hums some song Bruce has heard before but can't name. Bruce wonders if Joker’s incapable of stopping and just being, he's always making some kind of noise or moving, anything to get people to notice him. It's almost like he's afraid of disappearing if he stops. Bruce huffs and tells himself to stop analyzing Joker's behavior when he's drunk, he's probably a mile off the mark anyways. Bruce has tried to find some kind of deeper meaning behind Joker’s behavior for years and it all seems to come down to him simply enjoying the things he does, so why would this be any different?

Bruce closes his eyes and breathes in the smell of the air freshener and the faint trace of peach shampoo still clinging to Joker’s hair. It’s the same scent that sometimes clings to Harley and Bruce hates it.

Joker nudges Bruce when the cab reaches their destination so he'd pay while Joker drags himself out of the car. Bruce doesn’t realize he could've asked the driver to take Joker somewhere that wasn't his home until after the car speeds away, but he doubts calling the cab back would end well for anyone.

Bruce guides Joker up to the penthouse through a backdoor to avoid the risk of someone seeing him hauling one of Gotham's most dangerous criminals to his home.

Joker stumbles and giggles as Bruce drags him through the darkness of the open space of his living room. He and drops Joker on the couch and falls next to him with a groan, he's surprised he managed to get them both from the bar all the way to the penthouse without anyone getting hurt.

"One more drink and then sleep?" Joker asks and Bruce nods.

"Can't make you a cocktail though."

Joker snorts and Bruce smiles, safe in the knowledge Joker can’t see it in the dark. He drags himself up and turns on the lights on his way to get the scotch Alfred pretends he doesn't know Bruce keeps in the kitchen. It takes some concentration but Bruce gets the bottle and glasses out, and he takes a moment to breathe in the familiar scent of his home and take the situation in. His legs feel like lead and his head is spinning and there's a homicidal clown on his couch.

Bruce shakes with silent laughter and he takes a few shallow breaths before counting to ten and returning to the living room.

Joker is half asleep when Bruce puts the scotch down on the glass table, and the sound of it snaps him wide awake. For a second Bruce expects to get shot but then Joker’s lips pull into a lazy, lopsided smile and he gazes up to Bruce’s eyes, letting his head fall on the back of the couch and baring his neck. Bruce chews his lip and wonders if he could taste the madness on Joker’s skin.

He doesn’t realize he’s staring until Joker chuckles and spreads his legs suggestively. Bruce snaps his attention to pouring the scotch while Joker laughs at him and forces the image of Joker spread on his couch so invitingly out of his mind, and moves the second glass to Joker’s line of sight.

Bruce clears his throat to get rid the sudden lump he seems to have swallowed. “Say when.”

The glass is almost filled to the brim by the time Joker tells him to stop, and Bruce takes own glass sits next to Joker. He never thought he'd be having a drink in his home with Joker of all people but there he is, and despite Joker being a bit obnoxious at times Bruce doesn't mind his company.

Joker sighs, lifts his legs on Bruce's lap and gulps down most of his drink in one go,and Bruce lets his arms fall on Joker’s legs as he closes his eyes. His head feels like it’s filled with cotton and he can’t process the insanity of the situation. A small voice that sounds a lot like Dick tells him he’s entered Bizarro world.

"You're weird, you know that?" Joker’s soft voice brings Bruce out of his thoughts too soon and he cracks his eyes open to see Joker studying him with surprisingly sharp eyes considering how drunk he is.

"Yeah," Bruce sighs and sinks deeper into the couch, hoping it would swallow him up whole and take him away.

"It's not a bad thing," Joker laughs and nudges Bruce with his leg.

"I know that," Bruce mutters and hopes Joker shuts up.

“Pretty and weird. My favorite combination. Bet you’re a great kisser too,” Joker says, his voice dropping low as he leans up to run his fingers along Bruce’s jaw.

It’s too much.

Joker makes a noise of protest when Bruce gets up without a warning and walks away, but Bruce needs to get some sleep and not have Joker messing with his head. Joker calls after him but Bruce can't quite make out what he's saying, something about him being too sensitive. Bruce can either ignore him or go back and punch his lights out, and ignorance will leave him with less problems in his hands.

Bruce barely gets his clothes off before falling on his bed and crawling under the covers, and he's asleep before he realizes he's left Joker awake and alone in his home.

The alarm seems to go off seconds after he fell asleep and Bruce is already in a bad mood. His head hurts, his mouth tastes like something died in it and he feels like throwing up. Bruce groans and turns the alarm off before dragging himself into the shower on legs that feel too weak to walk on.

He's brushing his teeth when he remembers he stormed off on Joker less than five hours ago. He groans and rubs his temples to ease his headache, and wishes he could go back in time and tell himself not to go to the bar.

Bruce would rather go back to sleep than leave his bedroom but he has to go to the board meeting, he'd promised Alfred and Lucius he'd be there and Bruce isn’t about to make a liar out of himself. So he puts on his best suit and steels himself for whatever waits for him on the other side of his bedroom door.

Joker isn't on the couch anymore but Bruce can smell coffee so he makes his way to the kitchen as quietly as he can. He’s surprised to find the room empty, and the coffee in the pot and a plate with a sandwich waiting for him don’t ease his mind at all. There's even a fresh muffin with a note sticking under the plate it’s placed on the island and Bruce wants to know how Joker had managed that. He eyes the breakfast in confusion as he pulls the piece of paper out, ready for anything.

_Had to go see a friend_

_Thanks for a fun night_

_xoxo - J  
_

_ps. it's not poisoned :)_

Bruce isn't sure what he expected but this isn't it. He eyes the breakfast and considers either testing the food for poisons or just throwing it all away, but Bruce gets the feeling Joker isn't trying to kill him. And besides, Bruce is on a tight schedule so he risks his life and takes a bite of the sandwich and shoves the note to his pocket.

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce is driving home after a long day at Wayne Enterprises, changing between the radio channels until turning it off when nothing piques his interest. He's expecting to see Dick at the manor since he’d promised to help Tim on some project of his that Bruce isn’t allowed to know about just yet.

The traffic in the downtown is slow but rather than let it bother him Bruce relaxes and watches along as the streets fill with people and the nightlife slowly takes over Gotham. The neon lights shine brighter as the shadows get longer, hiding the things that lurk in the back alleys and lighting up streets for those who wish to face the kind of night only Gotham can offer, and the air hums in anticipation as the city comes to life.

It feels like home in a way nothing else does, and Bruce cracks the window open to let the city into his car.

The traffic disappears almost completely once Bruce leaves the city behind and he lets his mind wander without worrying too much about it. He’s so lost in thought he almost misses a man stumbling to the road not five minutes after he’d crossed the memorial bridge, and Bruce is sure he sprains something when he hits the breaks. If nothing else the seat belt just gave him an impressive bruise.

Bruce stares at the figure on the darkening road and his eyes widen in surprise when he recognizes the unmistakable purple coat. He doesn't move when Joker slowly makes his way to the car as he fixes his make up. His fingers tighten around the steering wheel when Joker pockets his lipstick and the small mirror and gets in the car without bothering to check if it’s okay with Bruce. He’s soaking wet and there's mud in his hair and clothes, and most of his makeup is smeared on his face.

Bruce thinks he sees blood on his clothes.

"Take me to the city," Joker orders as a way of greeting, and when Bruce doesn't immediately react to his command Joker levels him with the iciest glare Bruce has received in a while.

"Now," Joker grits through his teeth and Bruce decides it's best to do what he wants, so he turns the car around and drives off towards the neon lights of the city.

Bruce spares a worried glance to Joker when he groans softly and leans against the window with a pained frown on his face. He’s pressing his hands to his left side and Bruce sees he was right about the blood.

He drives a little faster.

Joker tells Bruce to take him to a free clinic in the Narrows Bruce knows gets most of its clients from criminals and Arkham escapees. They do a good job and everyone seems to like the staff and the staff never complains about their clientele so nobody interferes with their business.

Bruce gets to the clinic on record time without being spotted by the police and he's out of the car and pulling Joker to his feet before he can get a word out. Joker leans on Bruce and fists his hand on Bruce’s jacket, leaving bloody prints on it Bruce fears will ever wash away. Joker’s weight is too heavy against Bruce and his breathing comes in pained hitches, and the walk from the car to the clinic door feels miles longer than it is.

The only person at the waiting area is the receptionist who takes one look of Joker and motions Bruce to take him to the back. "First door to the left," she calls after them and Bruce nods without caring she can't see them anymore.

Bruce knocks on the door once as a courtesy before opening it without waiting for an answer. He spares a pleading glance at the young woman sitting by her desk with her phone in her hands and a shocked look on her face as he drags Joker to the examination table. She doesn't waste time throwing her phone on the desk and hurrying over to her new patient.

"What did you do this time?" She asks as she takes in Joker's state while Bruce tries to help him out of his coat without causing him any more damage. Joker waves his hand vaguely and makes a series of random sounds before stilling and glancing between Bruce and the doctor.

"Have you two meet already?" Joker asks and motions between the two. "Brucie, meet Suzie. Suzie, Brucie!" Joker smiles widely, almost like he's embarrassed. The wet, bloody coat hangs on Bruce's arms as he stares at Joker with dumbfounded eyes. He didn't think Joker could get embarrassed.

The doctor sighs and gives Bruce a polite smile. "It's Karen, actually," she says as she helps Joker take his torn shirt off. There's a series of long, shallow gashes on running along his ribs and Bruce has to bite his tongue to keep himself from making Joker tell him what happened.

"He won't call me by my name unless I marry my boyfriend," Karen explains before pulling on a pair of gloves and focusing on getting the wounds cleaned up.

"Now would you tell me what the hell happened?" Karen asks again. Joker groans and lies down despite Karen's protests, and she glares at Joker until he moves to a position she’s happy with.

"I might owe Ed some money," Joker says casually without looking at Karen, and she stops cleaning Joker's wounds as she slowly looks up with her face void of any emotion.

"You didn't," She groans and Joker turns his hurt eyes to her.

"It's not my fault he doesn't appreciate music," Joker insists and Karen shakes her head before getting back to getting the wounds clean and muttering about suicidal idiots.

"Who doesn't appreciate music?" Bruce asks though he’s not sure if getting involved in the conversation is the best idea if he wants to stay in the room.

"Croc," Joker replies absently without looking at Bruce while Karen stands up to change her gloves and to get the needle and thread she’ll need to stitch Joker up. It takes Bruce a second to remember Joker telling him about his intention to singing See You Later Alligator to Killer Croc, and Bruce can't help himself, he punches Joker's leg a little too hard for a billionaire playboy.

"Ow, fuck! How much do you bench? Jesus!" Joker glares at Bruce who has the sense to take a step back. "Why the hell did you do that?"

Bruce can't tell Joker it was an instinctive response to his stupidity and obvious death wish because that would just bring forth a whole new sleuth of questions, so he just makes an apologetic face and shrugs.

"You're so weird," Joker mutters and shakes his head before his attention is drawn to Karen and the needle in her hands.

It doesn’t take long for Karen to stitch Joker up. Once she’s done checking her handwork she gives Joker some antibiotics and painkillers to take home, and orders him to call her if the wounds won’t start healing properly. She gets Joker to promise to keep things easy for a few days, even if Bruce knows it's not likely to happen, and if the disbelieving face Karen makes behind Joker's back is any indication she's not buying it either. Bruce decides he likes her.

"Could you make sure he gets home safe. I'd call Jonny but he's out of town," Karen says to Bruce who promises to see Joker safely home, it’s not like he was going to let Joker walk anywhere in the condition he’s in anyway. Karen thanks him and hands Bruce a piece of paper with an address on it while Joker pulls his ruined clothes on.

Bruce helps Joker limp back to the car and doesn't mention Joker leaning on him a little heavily. The streets are already dark, with sirens and the unmistakable ring of gunfire echoing in the distance. Joker breathes in the night air and sighs softly while Bruce opens the door.

Bruce tries not to notice the blood on the seat when Joker climbs into the car. A small voice in the back of his mind tells him he’ll be screwed when Alfred sees the ruined leather but Bruce ignores it as he starts the car and drives off.

Bruce keeps glancing at Joker, taking note of the mindless rhythm his fingers are tapping on his leg and the exhaustion slowly taking over him. It's probably not the best time for it, but Bruce has to know what Joker was thinking when he decided to piss Croc off.

"It's not like I meant for him to try to eat me," Joker snaps. "I just didn't think the whole thing through," he continues with a defeated sigh. Bruce has no trouble believing that.

The address Karen gave Bruce takes them to a generic if a bit rundown looking apartment complex in the East End. Bruce parks the car at the same time as Joker turns to him with that too nice smile Bruce knows brings only trouble with it.

"Wanna come in?" Joker asks like he and Bruce are old friends who do this kind of thing all the time.

"I've got things I need to do today," Bruce replies, praying Joker will just go and get some rest.

"Let me guess, you've got a pretty girl to woo," Joker says and wiggles his eyebrows. Bruce almost misses it when he spots the faint glow of the bat signal in the sky. Gordon's a few hours early.

"Yeah," Bruce agrees and smiles apologetically. Joker gives him an unimpressed look as he opens the door and steps outside.

"Your loss. I've got-," Joker stops suddenly as he spots the signal in the sky. His face lights up, and sudden rush of dread runs through Bruce’s body and he wants Joker back in the car, oblivious to the symbol reflected on the clouds that hang above Gotham.

"On the other hand you should go. I'll keep busy. Bye bye Brucie," Joker smiles brightly and waves at Bruce before slamming the door shut and hurrying around the car as fast as his injuries allow.

Bruce doesn’t exactly panic, though his mind goes through his opinions faster than usual and the world narrows down to making sure Joker stays inside for the night. He can’t find Joker dead on some back alley because of his obsession with Batman, not if there’s anything he can do about it.

"You know you owe me a drink, right?" Bruce calls out of the window and smiles his most charming smile, the one he gives to the cameras. It gets Joker to stop and turn around, and he studies Bruce with curious eyes.

"Don't you have a date?" He asks and it's clear he's not buying Bruce's act.

"I'd be bored to death," Bruce says, but drops the smile and sighs when Joker frowns at him. "And I'd worry about you," he tries instead and hopes Joker can tell he's not lying.

Joker looks almost torn which is more than Bruce hoped for, so to ease his decision making Bruce steps out of the car and locks the doors. If nothing else it gets Joker to laugh.

"Fine. You get one drink and then you go to your date," Joker says and waits for Bruce to catch up to him before going inside. Joker leads Bruce inside and up the stairs all the way to the top floor, and Bruce stays close to him in case he needs help when he starts to look a little unsure on his feet. They make it safely to Joker's front door without Bruce having to stop him from falling down, though Joker had stopped to catch his breath a few times, and Bruce breathes out a sigh of relief.

It takes Joker a few seconds to unlock the door and lead Bruce in. He flips the lights on as an afterthought before starting to work on the half a dozen safety locks he has on the door, and Bruce waits by his side despite nearly vibrating with anticipation to see what kind of a place Joker is living in.

"Welcome to my super secret hideout," Joker says after he's done with the door and leads Bruce through the open space. Bruce is a little surprised by it all, the floor seems to be actual wood and the walls look like they’ve been recently painted, and Bruce wonders who picked the dark mahogany like color for them. Bruce hadn't really expected the place to look so nice, even the furniture seems to be purposefully mismatched. It dawns on Bruce that the wide open space that takes over most of the apartment and the high ceiling are a stark contrast to Joker’s small cell in Arkham.

"So this is where you live?" Bruce asks casually as he looks around.

"Some of the time," Joker replies absently and points to the couch. "Sit," he orders and Bruce does as he's told.

Joker gets them glasses and a bottle of red wine from the kitchen, and Bruce takes the glasses while Joker opens the bottle with a pocketknife. He doesn't say anything when Joker pours him a full glass of wine even though his brain unhelpfully reminds him he’s driving.

"So you'd worry about me. That's nice," Joker says as he slumps down a little too close to Bruce to be entirely comfortable.

"You're getting blood on the couch," Bruce points out in an attempt to change the topic. Joker looks confused for a second before glancing down and noticing his ruined clothes. He lets out a dry laugh and hands his glass to Bruce.

"Oh, right. Silly me. Gimme a sec," he says and gets up. Bruce watches him limp to another room and sips his wine while he waits for Joker to come back. He resists the urge to get up and take a look around and distracts himself by sending Alfred a quick text saying he'll be late but everything is fine. He hides the phone when he hears Joker coming back.

Joker has changed his clothes and washed the dirt and blood from his face and hair, though he’s been careful not to wash away any more of his makeup than he had to. Bruce swallows and gulps down the rest of his wine in one go and fills his glass while Joker sits down by his side. Seeing Joker out of his trademark suits or the Arkham uniform, even if he's just ditched the tie and the vest and opened a couple of buttons, is strange and too intimate. Joker has no right to be out of his usual costumes when Bruce can’t be in his. Joker’s breaking the rules, even if he doesn’t know about it.

"Now explain the worrying," Joker demands as he takes his glass from Bruce.

Bruce sighs and glances around the apartment.

"You're hurt and if you'd bleed to death I'd blame myself," he admits and drinks the wine to keep himself from saying more. He should slow down before he gets drunk and does something stupid, but Joker is sitting too close to him looking like he’s gone through hell and studying Bruce with those intelligent eyes that are so easy to get lost in.

"Oh," Joker sounds almost disappointed and Bruce raises a questioning eyebrow at him. "I was hoping for something more interesting," Joker says and leans away from Bruce with a sigh and his eyes drift away from Bruce.

"What did you want me to say?" Bruce asks, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I dunno. Something else." Joker sounds bored and Bruce needs to change that before Joker decides to entertain himself, most likely at the expanse of Bruce. He rakes his brain to come up with something that will make Joker want to keep him alive and in one piece.

"Look, I don't want you to die. You're not... completely horrible when you're not killing people," Bruce tries. Joker snorts and Bruce counts that as a win.

"You're so sweet," Joker chuckles and flashes Bruce a bright smile. Bruce smiles back, satisfied that the danger has been averted for now, and lets himself relax. Joker shakes his head and sips his wine.

"I'm going to assume you haven't taken any painkillers," Bruce says calmly when Joker pours himself another glass of wine.

"No, I'm stupid and want to kill myself," Joker deadpans. "I know what I'm doing," he continues and gives Bruce an unimpressed look. Bruce wants to say he knows but settles for a nod.

Bruce keeps filling Joker's glass in hopes he'll get too drunk to get up and leave the apartment, and it takes an hour of chatting and the whole bottle of wine to make Joker nearly fall off the couch in a fit of laughter.

Bruce chuckles at the man and pulls him back to the couch and encourages him to lie down.

"I think you've had enough."

Joker giggles and nods as he reaches for Bruce with a lazy smile on his lips. Bruce let's him take a hold of his shirt but hesitates when he feels Joker tugging him down. In the end Bruce figures there's no harm in indulging Joker's drunken affections. Joker practically squeaks when he wraps his arms around Bruce's shoulders and pulls him into a warm embrace. Bruce breathes in the smell of soap and the Gotham river and he holds Joker more tightly than he probably should, but he needs that moment of genuine warmth with Joker. He needs to have that memory.

"I can't breathe," Joker laughs softly into Bruce's ear and Bruce eases his hold on him a little, and lets go when Joker pats his back and pulls away.

"You're a great hugger," Joker says and Bruce is a little proud of himself.

"Promise you'll get some rest and stay home?" Bruce presses and looks into Joker's eyes to make sure he’s listening.

"Because you'd worry if I'd get hurt," Joker says a bit too smugly for Bruce's liking and blinks slowly, trying to keep his eyes focused on Bruce even though he’s close to falling asleep.

"Sure," Bruce replies and gives Joker a polite smile. He moves the empty wine bottle and the glasses to the table covered with various knick-knacks, books, papers and a few knives so that Joker won’t accidentally knock them over.

"I got Bruce Wayne to like me," Joker continues with a wide grin, clearly proud of himself. Bruce's smile drops and he groans.

"Let's not exaggerate," Bruce says and pulls away from Joker. "It's more of mortal fear for my life and a desire not to piss you off." Joker laughs and tries to swat Bruce's arm.

"Don't be stupid. I'm not gonna hurt you. You're fun to have around," he laughs and Bruce takes another step back.

"I'm really not," Bruce starts but shuts up when something shifts in the way Joker looks at him.

"Well what use do I have for you then?" Joker asks too sweetly and the warmness he had in his eyes disappears. Bruce feels cold as Joker's smile turns cruel and Bruce instinctively backs off.

"I didn't mean it like that," Bruce says. He knows he can take Joker on if he attacks but explaining that would be difficult, and since he doesn't want to put Bruce Wayne on top of Joker's hit list he's making knocking Joker out and possibly breaking a few of his bones the last resort. Especially when Joker already has an impressive collection of fresh stitches.

"Oh please do tell me how you meant it," Joker says and gets up. Bruce has a second to marvel at his steadiness before his own feet catch the edge of a carpet and he nearly trips, and Joker uses his loss of balance to shove him to the ground. Bruce hits the floor with a huff and Joker is straddling him and pinning him down before he has a chance to fully process it. Bruce fears he’s going to tear his stitches and he’ll have to take him to the ER, and if Joker wasn’t looking at him like he’s trying to decide what the best way to kill Bruce is he’d tell Joker to watch what he’s doing. Bruce expects Joker to hit him or stab him or something, but he just stares Bruce with anger twisting his features into something ugly.

Bruce tries to gently tug his wrists free from Joker's hold but only gets Joker to tighten his grip.

"And here I thought we could've been friends," Joker pouts.

"Fine, we'll be friends. Just get off of me," Bruce says hastily and does his best to keep his breathing slow and his mind calm.

Joker snarls and squeezes Bruce's ribs with his knees. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" Bruce asks and forces himself to stay still even though he’s having trouble breathing.

"Say what you think I wanna hear," Joker growls. "Don't be like everyone else. You do that again and I'll turn you into a pumpkin." Bruce regards Joker for a moment and weighs his options. The smart thing to do would be to headbutt the man into unconsciousness, but Bruce has been doing the violent approach with Joker for years and it hasn't worked. And there’s something different about Joker, it’s more of a faint feeling than anything Bruce can pinpoint down but it’s there.

It's time to try something new.

"Look. I honestly wouldn't mind being your friend. When I said I'm not interesting I meant it. I’m pretty sure the most interesting thing about me is my bank account. Don't get your hopes up," Bruce says as sincerely and calmly as he can, and Joker studies Bruce closely for a long moment before his face softens minutely.

"You're not joking," Joker mutters like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. Bruce is fairly certain it's not the best time for a sarcastic comment so he bites his tongue to keep quiet.

"Okay," Joker says and flashes Bruce a bright smile before standing up and offering Bruce his hand. "This'll be fun!"

Bruce isn't sure what he's gotten himself into but it can't be worse than anything Joker's already put him through. He lets Joker help him up and does a quick and subtle check up to make sure neither one of them got hurt before turning his attention to Joker.

"So what now?" Bruce asks cautiously. Joker shrugs and limps back to the couch.

"Go home," Joker replies as he slumps down. "Let me sleep for a few hours." Bruce hopes Joker will actually get some rest.

"Guess I'll see you around then," Bruce says and starts walking towards the front door. He gets about halfway there before Joker hops onto his feet and comes after him.

"Forgot you can't open the door," Joker explains and ignores the tension in Bruce’s body. Bruce waits while Joker works on the locks, and when he's done he opens the door and holds it open for Bruce.

"Do me a favor," Joker says as soon as Bruce is standing in the hallway, and Bruce turns to him and raises a curious eyebrow. "Don't tell Bats I live here!" Joker grins and slams the door on Bruce's face. Bruce stares at the door with wide eyes for a second before calmly walking away, thinking of the irony of Joker's request.

 

* * *

 

 

A few weeks later Bruce is at a gallery opening with a rising actress by his side and an arms dealer in his sights. He's not expecting any trouble so when someone start shooting while Bruce is getting him and his date a drink it takes him by surprise.

Bruce ducks and scans the floor to see what's happening, and he spots his arms dealer engaged in a firefight with someone Bruce doesn't recognize. He needs to get outside. Bruce searches the room for his date and sees a young man help her escape, and he hopes they'll have a fun together as he dashes towards the doors.

It's chaos on the sidewalk and Bruce thanks his luck, it will make disappearing a lot easier. Since Bruce had given his car to the valet and it's now out of his immediate reach he decides the next best thing is to call Alfred to get him so that he can get into his batsuit and out on the streets questioning people as soon as possible. He's just begun to walk away from the panicking quests and the curious crowd gathering around them when the sound of screeching tires catches his attention and a bright red Camaro pulls up next to him. Bruce stops out of curiosity and when the tinted window rolls down and reveals Joker's grinning face Bruce feels like he should have seen this coming.

"Going my way?" Joker asks and if he'll grin any wider his face will split in two. Bruce sighs in defeat and figures this might as well happen, and maybe he'll get a free ride back home.

"Sure," he answers and gets into the car.

Joker winks at Bruce as he turns up the music and steps on the gas and speeds away, barely dodging the spectators around the gallery. Joker looks better than he did the last time Bruce saw him, and Bruce hopes he’s been following Karen’s instructions and actually spent the past weeks resting. Bruce sinks into his seat even though he knows nobody can see him through the tinted windows and closes his eyes for a second before Joker singing along the radio catches his attention.

"Joan Jett?" Bruce asks and fights the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Joker singing Bad Reputation off key is not funny. Joker nods enthusiastically and drives a little faster. Bruce isn't worried about Joker's driving no matter how reckless it seems, he's been in enough car chases with him to know he knows what he's doing, but he still worries they'll be pulled over. Bruce is ready to cry kidnapping if that happens and he can only hope Joker will go along with it.

As the car slides across the road and they run the second set of red lights Bruce realizes he has a whole new problem; he has to figure out a way to get Joker to take him home as soon as possible.

"So, could you drop me off at the manor?" Bruce asks and hopes that's all it takes to solve his problem.

"Already? What am I, a taxi driver?" Joker replies and glances at Bruce with a wicked smile on his lips. "Oh! Now I see this clearly. My whole life is pointed in one direction. There never has been a choice for me," he continues with a solemn expression and Bruce chuckles.

"Just shut up and enjoy the ride," Joker orders but there’s no real force behind it. Bruce still bite his tongue to stop himself from saying something he'd regret.

"Why were you at the gallery?" Bruce asks after a minute. Joker hums and tilts his head in consideration.

"Well I heard there were these arms dealers who hate each other in town so I thought it'd be fun if I booked a meeting with them both at the same party at the same time, and because arms dealers tend to be a bit paranoid with mystery clients who might be hitmen they brought their guns and started shooting when they saw each other," Joker tells Bruce with a gleeful smile. "I was just driving by to see how it turned out and there you were! What a happy coincidence. Why? Did I save you from a boring date?"

Bruce doesn't answer immediately. He's not surprised Joker had orchestrated the shootout for his own amusement but the joy he gets from putting innocent people in danger makes Bruce angry. For a second he’d let himself believe Joker had been at the gallery by coincidence, and he berates himself for ignoring the obvious.

"So I almost got shot because you wanted to see what they'd do," Bruce says blandly. He might not be able to beat Joker up for the mess he created but if Joker wants to play friends then Bruce can get upset with him. And Bruce will definitely get upset over innocent people dying for Joker’s amusement.

"Oh don't be like that. It's not like I meant for you to get shot," Joker huffs and shakes his head like Bruce is the one who's the problem.

"Just everybody else," Bruce retorts and crosses his arms, and if he looks a bit petulant then so be it.

Joker groans and rolls his eyes. "I didn't know they were gonna shoot up the place. I'm not psychic. They might as well talked it out and become bestest friends," he replies and Bruce can tell he's losing interest in the topic.

"But that wouldn't have been fun," Bruce still points out sarcastically, and if the hard glare Joker shoots at him is anything to go by he's pushing his luck.

"That would've been hilarious," Joker mutters and Bruce knows the conversation is over. He's not sure if Joker is kidding or not, but Bruce is leaning on him being serious. He considers pushing the matter further but comes to the conclusion Joker doesn’t like him enough to not kill him if he gets annoyed, so he shuts up.

"Did you steal this?" Bruce asks after a minute and looks around the car. Joker makes a face and shakes his head.

"Harley stole it, I'm borrowing," he replies and points at the radio. "Going by the music I'd say she had a date with Ivy." Bruce's interest is immediately piqued.

"So, your girlfriend took someone else on a date and now you're borrowing their stolen car," he says and tries not to smile at the way Joker’s face twitches in annoyance. Bruce has heard all the rumors about Joker and Harley going their separate ways but since it's still just whispers among criminals he’s never had any real confirmation of it, even if the rumors have been around for a few months. He’s just assumed they’re having another fight that would blow over sooner or later and Harley would return to Joker like she always does.

Joker sighs and gives Bruce a suffering look. "You really wanna talk about my love life?" He asks disbelievingly, and Bruce gives him his most endearing smile.

"Oh god. Fine. Try to keep up," Joker says and waits until Bruce nods before continuing. "I kinda ditched Harley so now she's living with Ivy and apparently they're going on a road trip with the Kitty Cat so unless they end up killing each other there's a chance of a ménage à trois in there," Joker explains fast and Bruce has to take a second to process it. He had no idea Harley and Ivy were planning a road trip with Selina and he might have to look into it when he gets home, but it’s not the thing that catches his attention.

"You two broke up?" Bruce asks and the confusion on his face is real. He knows exactly how twisted the relationship between Joker and Harley is and he needs to be sure this time Joker has let her go for good.

"She’ll come back if I tell her to. We hang out. Do stuff. Whatever works. She's fun," Joker explains surprisingly patiently. "At least, you know, when she's not being annoying to the point I want to kill her," he adds with a bright smile, and even though Bruce knows it's not likely Joker will kill Harley he still worries. He likes Harley.

"And you call me weird," Bruce says and turns to look out of the window while Joker laughs. The city passes by in a blur and Bruce barely pays attention to where they are.

"You are weird," Joker laughs. "Just own up to it." Bruce doesn't bother telling him he's already owned up to his weirdness big time as he glances out of the window to see if he can spot the Bat signal in the sky. It doesn’t catch his eye but it might be because of the buildings blocking his view.

"I'll consider it," Bruce says anyways to humor Joker. "But I still need to go home.” He offers Joker an apologetic smile. Joker ignores him in favor of switching through Harley's song collection.

"Look, I was just in a shoot out and I went missing," Bruce tries but Joker cuts him off with a wave of his hand.

"You're not in danger." Joker looks offended at the mere idea, and while Bruce is happy they’re back to Joker not wanting to hurt him it doesn’t solve his problem.

"I know that," Bruce assures him and receives an unimpressed glance for his troubles. "But people worry when someone disappears from situation like that. And I'd rather not have you accused of kidnapping me," Bruce says and finally Joker seems to think it through, and Bruce waits with baited breath for Joker to make up his mind.

"Fine," he grumbles after a minute and sulks, but he turns the car around and speeds through the streets towards the manor. Bruce relaxes and sits back, enjoying the high speed ride.

Joker takes the longest possible route but Bruce doesn’t complain. It’s just not worth the trouble. Instead Bruce checks his phone to make sure no one has tried to contact him, and if Joker happens to glance at him with cautious eyes Bruce ignores it and puts his phone back in his pocket.

Bruce wants to ask how Joker has been in the past weeks but the words don’t come out, so instead he tells Joker his date had left his for someone else the second the shooting had started, and as Bruce had hoped Joker laughs.

When they reach the gates of Wayne manor Joker hits the brakes so hard Bruce worries the car will break down, and he has to take a second to make sure he’s in one piece. Joker chews his lip with a contemplative look on his face, and Bruce thanks him for the ride and rushes out of the car before Joker decides he doesn't want to let him go. Bruce waves at the car as he hurries through the gates without looking back.

He hears the car take off with the tires screeching dangerously and Bruce wonders if Joker ever got a driver's license.

Tim is waiting for Bruce, ready to hit the streets, and Bruce pretends he doesn’t know what caused the shootout. He figures he can at least find out who the second dealer was if the police don’t know it already. And if the police have done the job for him he can always focus on finding Croc.

Tim keeps giving Bruce looks that range from curious to annoyed, and after an hour of questioning every criminal they think might know something about the gallery incident he stops Bruce and tells him to go take care of whatever it is that’s bothering him.

“I can take care of a couple of mobsters,” he assures with a small smile and eyes that beg Bruce to trust him. And Bruce knows Tim can take care of it. He just worries.

But Tim looks at him, silently begging for the trust he knows he deserves, and Bruce gives up. “Let me know if you get in trouble,” he orders and the happy smile on Tim’s face alleviates his fears only a little.

“I will,” Tim promises and dashes into the night before Bruce can change his mind, and maybe Alfred and Dick are right when they tell him to ease off the kid, Tim needs to go out on his own more and become his own person, and Bruce has to trust Tim won’t go near Joker if he finds out he was behind the shootout.

Bruce stays in the shadows for a moment longer before focusing his efforts on tracking down Croc.

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce has no idea how Joker got a hold of his phone number and 5am is, in his opinion, too early for dealing with it. Especially after the night he's had. Bruce groans and rubs his eyes. He's bruised and tired and even the long shower he took couldn't get the stink of sewer off of him, and no matter how much Tim rolls his eyes and says it’s just in his mind Bruce knows the smell is still clinging to him. He isn't sleep deprived enough to hallucinate just yet.

Still, no matter how much Bruce wants to ignore it, his phone has half a dozen texts from Joker. Bruce considers ignoring them, but he doubts he can sleep without dealing with it so he forces his eyes to focus on the phone and reads the messages again.

The first one was sent at 3am and simply says ' _you should really keep better care of your stuff :P J_ '. The second message was sent twenty minutes later. ' _btw I copied your credit card. Needed a new suit and robbing a bank was too much work_ ' Bruce can't wait to explain that to Alfred.

The next message is a picture of Joker's new suit, which Bruce grudgingly admits looks pretty good on him. It's a deep, nearly black shade of purple, a contrast to his usually colorful outfits, and Bruce almost sends Joker a text asking what's with the new style. The picture is followed by two texts asking for Bruce's opinion and thanking him for the money.

The last message is just a smiley.

Bruce falls on his bed and buries his face in a pillow to muffle his long suffering groan. He should've risked Joker finding out he's Batman and just smashed his face in the second he walked up to him in that bar. It would’ve saved him a lot of trouble. But now that Bruce is stuck with Joker and he's not in a position to ignore him Bruce sighs and forces his eyes to focus for long enough to send a text.

_It looks fine. Next time just ask for the money._

Bruce figures it’s good enough and buries his face in his pillow. He lifts his head a few seconds later to send one more message telling Joker to go to sleep. His phone buzzes almost immediately and Bruce lets himself imagine how good it would feel to turn it off before cracking an eye open just enough to see if it’s something important.

 _Says the guy still awake._ Bruce snorts despite himself and starts typing.

 _Touché,_ he hits reply before he can talk himself out of it and yawns. The phone buzzes in his hand and Bruce tells himself he can close his eyes for a minute before checking the new message.

He doesn't mean to fall asleep.

Bruce wakes up when Alfred opens the curtains hours later. He's still tired and makes it known by complaining about the brightness into his pillow and pulling the covers over his head. Alfred tells Bruce to stop being childish but his voice is fond, and Bruce smiles even though Alfred can't see it.

"Perhaps you should take a night off," Alfred suggests as he passes the bed, and Bruce almost agrees with him.

Bruce stretches and his hand brushes against his phone. He remembers the text Joker had sent him before he fell asleep, and suddenly Bruce is wide awake. Alfred takes his time leaving the room and Bruce waits patiently until he’s is out of the room before pulling his phone from under the pillow. He hopes the last text from Joker hadn't been too important and squints at the bright screen.

_Try ambien :)_

Bruce doesn't think letting Joker know he’s already done that would be a good idea so he drops his phone and drags himself into the shower. He’ll need to get the sheets changed to get the faint smell of sewer off of them. The smell just won’t leave his skin, and he doubts another shower will do much to change that but he still tries.

He knows it’s not just in his head, no matter what Alfred and Tim say.

 

* * *

 

 

Turns out Joker wanted a new suit for when he tries to fry Gotham's power grid because, as Bruce really should've remembered, it's the anniversary of the first time they met and Joker thought the lights were going to ruin the fireworks he wanted to set off. Bruce isn’t surprised to find that the fireworks also included explosives set up around the city, and Alfred’s joke about getting Bruce’s best cape out for the occasion doesn’t help make him feel better.

Bruce finds Joker easily near Gotham Harbor with a bomb ready to go off. It hasn’t been that long since he was mauled and Bruce doesn’t want to hurt him too much so he tries to talk to him, but Joker lunges at him, ignoring his pleas and pissed off that Batman has the audacity to try to ruin their anniversary. Bruce holds back until he can’t, and he twists Joker’s arm until he drops his gun and kicks him hard to knock the air out of his  lungs and wrestles him to the ground.

That should’ve been it, except Joker squirms out of his hands and takes off in a sprint, and Bruce is left alone with a bomb set to go off in less than a minute. Bruce doesn’t even bother disarming it, he’d looked at one of those things when he’d stopped the power plant from going up in smoke, and he needs more time than he has to dismantle it. The area has been evacuated so the only damage will be to property and that can be fixed.

So Bruce goes after Joker, intending to keep him from setting off any more explosives. He catches Joker on the bridge and trips him against the railing right before the bomb goes off. The bridge shakes with the explosion and the railing creaks under Joker’s weight. Bruce fears it might break. He has to get Joker out of there before the bridge crumbles under their feet.

The railing gives out and Joker falls into the harbor before Bruce can catch him.

Bruce spends the rest of the night looking for him, fearing this would be the time Joker won’t survive, and with Tim and the police dealing with Joker's scattering henchmen Bruce can focus on what matters the most to him.

Tim tells him not to beat himself up over it but Bruce can’t help it. He should’ve moved faster. He should’ve never let Joker near that railing, the bridge should have been renovated a long time ago and Bruce knew it wasn’t safe.

Bruce can’t find Joker, and by the time the sun is starting to rise he’s forced to give up his search for the night. He tells Tim he'll sleep in the penthouse for a change, mostly because he wants to avoid the look he knows Alfred will be giving him if he goes home. It's the same look after every confrontation with Joker, like he knows something Bruce doesn't and it makes Alfred tired and morose. Bruce hates it and he’s not in the mood to deal with it.

Bruce ditches his suit on the bathroom floor and takes a long hot shower that does nothing to ease the tension in his muscles before falling into bed without bothering to dry himself properly.

Bruce is half asleep when his phone starts ringing on the nightstand, and Bruce groans and rolls over, burying his head under the pillows to drown out the noise. It stops after a minute, followed by a ding signaling a received text, and when Bruce doesn't react to it his phone starts ringing again.

"For fucks sake!" Bruce drags himself out from under the covers and reaches for his phone, and answers without bothering to see who’s calling him. "What?" He barks into the phone and it's followed by a deadly silence.

"No need to shout sweetie," Joker's less than happy voice eventually breaks the silence and Bruce lets out a relieved breath.

"Sorry. Rough night," Bruce says and bites his lip.

"Join the club," Joker mutters, all the anger gone from his voice.

"Did you want something?" Bruce asks, making sure his voice doesn't sound too curious.

"Depends. Where are you?" Joker’s voice is carefully neutral and Bruce considers his opinions, he could lie and say he's at the manor but there's a chance that Joker already knows where he is.

"At the penthouse," Bruce replies honestly.

"Oh good. I'll be there in ten. Open the door for me," Joker says and hangs up. Bruce frowns at his phone and groans when he realizes he'll have to get up.

Bruce pulls a pair of sweats and a shirt on and plans to make a cup of coffee while he waits for Joker, but as he walks past the open bathroom door something catches his eye. It's his batsuit, still scattered on the floor for everyone to see. Bruce forgets about the coffee and hurries to pick up the suit, trying to figure out a place to hide it from Joker. He ends up shoving it in under the laundry with just enough time for him to calm down and check the mirror to make sure his face isn’t bruised like the rest of his body before Joker is behind his front door.

"Get me a drink, would you?" Joker says when he limps inside, dripping water all over   the floor. Bruce notes he'd lost the coat he'd been wearing earlier which leaves him in a soaked three piece suit that looks black in its current state, and the makeup and blood running down his face makes him look more unhinged than his usual warpaint does. Joker throws the jacket on the floor and loosens his tie as he slumps on the couch while Bruce gets him his drink.

Joker takes the tumbler from Bruce without so much as a thank you and presses it to the scrape on his scalp.It’s got an impressive bruise developing around it and Bruce thinks the injury came after Joker's fall, unlike the awkward way Joker is holding his right wrist. That is Bruce's doing.

Bruce watches Joker down the whiskey in one go and Bruce pours him more without prompting before getting himself a glass too, he's getting the feeling he'll need a drink.

Bruce sits on a chair at a safe distance from Joker but not far enough to warrant a comment, and watches Joker closely. He’s closed his eyes and he's frowning with the glass pressed against his scalp, and Bruce isn't sure what he should do or say.

"I just wanted fireworks," Joker sighs suddenly, his voice laced with barely concealed sadness, and Bruce reminds himself he's not supposed to know anything about what Joker is talking about.

"Just some nice fireworks and maybe a good laugh but no," Joker continues. "This is what I get for trying to do something nice." Joker motions at himself, and finally opens his eyes and fixes them on Bruce.

"Sorry," Bruce mutters in lack of a better response. Joker gives him a rueful smirk.

"You're so sweet," he says sarcastically. Bruce shrugs, he wasn't really lying, he does feel sorry for Joker being upset over his ruined plans, though Bruce isn't sorry for preventing him from causing destruction and death.

"Why'd you come here?" Bruce asks, interested as to why Joker hadn't gone to one of his safe houses or called his henchmen to get him.

"No one's gonna look for me here," Joker replies and Bruce gives him his best confused face. Joker sighs and finishes his drink, and Bruce refills his glass once more.

"Jimbo's hunting my crew. Considering the amount of idiots in this world I'm not trusting them to keep their mouths shut," Joker explains. "And if I'm lucky Bats thinks I'm dead and blames himself for it." Bruce hopes he's doing a good job at keeping his face straight, not that Joker is paying any attention to him anymore.

Bruce should be calling the police. He could excuse letting Joker get away when he wasn't killing people or causing destruction, but just hours ago Joker had shot a security guard and hospitalized another one for being in his way. Not to mention his attempt to blow up half of Gotham.

Bruce really should make sure Joker ends up in Arkham.

"It was just an anniversary. Who cares about those?" Joker says and suddenly he looks tired. He lets his eyes fall shut and sinks deeper into the couch. Bruce almost apologizes again. He never really believed the fuss about anniversaries was actually such a big deal to him and not just a part of his act. Bruce fiddles with his glass and looks around the room.

Sending Joker to Arkham doesn’t feel like the right thing to do anymore.

"Do you have anything to eat?" Joker bolts up without a warning and puts his unfinished drink on the table and heads towards the kitchen. Bruce wonders if he's limping because of their fight or if Joker hurt himself when he fell.

Bruce finishes his drink and puts his glass down before following Joker who is already rummaging through the refrigerator for something to eat by the time Bruce enters the kitchen.

"You've got absolutely nothing in here," Joker says with a disappointed pout. Bruce doesn't bother pointing out the refrigerator is packed full. Joker gets up and leans on the counter with a sigh and rubs the bloody scrape on his scalp.

"I think I've got some antiseptic," Bruce offers but Joker waves him off.

"I'll be fine," Joker says and to demonstrate his ability to take care of himself he slams his injured wrist on the counter on accident. Bruce winces sympathetically as Joker curses and hits the counter again. "Fuck. That smarts," Joker laughs and holds his wrist.

"Yeah. I'm getting the antiseptic," Bruce says and leaves Joker laughing in the kitchen.

Bruce rushes to the bathroom where he keeps a well stocked first aid kit and decides against bringing the whole thing with him to the kitchen, he’s not in the mood for the questions the amount of things he has in in the kit might raise. Bruce grabs the antiseptic, some gauze and the last cohesive bandage and makes a note to restock as he puts the kit back under the sink and hurries back to Joker.

Joker has slumped down on the kitchen floor with a tangerine and Bruce frowns at the  discarded the fruit's peeled skin on the floor. He cleans the mess up before sitting next to Joker and pressing a wad of cotton soaked in antiseptic to his scalp. Joker makes a small noise and glares at Bruce, but for once it's not a threatening look.

"How about I'm borrow your shower before you start coddling me," Joker says when Bruce pulls out the gauze, making Bruce stop in his tracks. It might be proof of how tired he is, but Bruce hadn't even thought about Joker's soaked clothes or the dirt clinging to his skin.

"Yeah, go ahead," Bruce agrees and points Joker to the direction of the bathroom. He watches Joker drag himself up and walk away, and as soon as Joker is out of sight Bruce sighs heavily and rubs his eyes. He's tired in every possible way and there's no amount of coffee that will help. Still, Bruce figures it won't hurt either so he gets up and puts the coffeemaker on.

Joker takes his time in the shower and for a moment Bruce thinks he's slipped and cracked his skull or fallen asleep, but since he hasn't heard any crashes so he assumes Joker is still okay. Bruce waits until the coffee is ready and pours himself a cup before wandering to the bedroom. He's not going to let Joker put on his soaked clothes, so he goes through his closet and picks a pair of warm sweats and a shirt he knows will be too big for Joker, and after a moment of hesitation he picks a pair of the warmest socks he has as well as clean underwear he won’t miss.

Bruce goes back to the kitchen to get something to eat, he can deal with no sleep but he won't go on without food and he needs something to busy himself with. Joker shows up covered in towels by the time Bruce has put together a simple breakfast. Bruce’s lips curl up at the sight of Joker wrapped up in towels, he's covered his hair in a one and wrapped two more around his waist and shoulders. He’s holding a corner of the towel around his shoulders in his fist and presses it to his cheek, covering half of his face in the process. If it was anyone else standing before Bruce he'd all the sight cute.

"I made breakfast," Bruce says and feels a little silly pointing out the obvious. Joker stares at him with a blank expression, the towel still on his face, and Bruce relaxes and averts his eyes. He’s seen Joker without his makeup before and he knows how wan Joker looks like under all the color, and he doesn’t care. He’d say as much if he could.

"Just let me patch you up first." Bruce grabs the antiseptic, gauze and the bandage from the counter, and ushers Joker back into the bedroom. Bruce doesn't comment when Joker makes a quick detour to get the bottle of whiskey and explains it away as good pain relief.

Bruce lets the soft glow of the morning sun light the room instead of turning on the lights, mostly because Joker is still holding the towel to his face and Bruce wants him to be at ease. He almost offers to find Joker some lipstick.

"Sit down," Bruce orders and points to his bed. "I got you some clothes too," he continues and points to the neatly folded stack on a chair, and after a second of consideration Joker shrugs and drops his towels before climbing on the bed with his back turned to Bruce and doing a lazy stretch. Bruce states at Joker with a blank expression. He should have known Joker has no problem getting naked in front of him, but it's still making Bruce uncomfortable and he averts his eyes from the pale expanse of his back.

Joker glances at Bruce over his shoulder and snorts.

"Please. Don't get all shy on me now, it's not as cute as you think," he says and gives Bruce an unamused look. Bruce mentally shakes himself and wets a new wad of cotton in antiseptic as he goes to Joker. Bruce hesitates for a second before sitting on the bed and pushing Joker's damp hair off his face. Joker watches Bruce with guarded eyes as Bruce starts cleaning his face, and when Bruce has no reaction to his pallor he slowly relaxes and licks his lips that are drying from the shower.

It's strange to be so gentle with Joker, and as Bruce cleans the wound carefully and makes sure there's no dirt or anything else stuck in it he takes the opportunity to really look at Joker. He looks different still wet from the shower and with his eyes almost closed, and Bruce would call it calmness if it weren't for the silent tapping of his fingers against the bed. The bruises and scrapes are coloring his usually white skin in myriad of colors and shapes, and Bruce feels a pang of regret at the boot sized bruise on Joker's ribs. He starts cleaning the other scrapes and wounds without saying a word as a way of apologizing even if Joker doesn't know it. Joker tilts his head and gives Bruce a lazy but curious look.

"Let me look at your wrist," Bruce says more gently than he's ever spoken to Joker before and holds his hand out for him after he's done with his wounds. Joker gives Bruce his hand with a hint of reluctance and keeps a close eye on Bruce’s actions. Bruce grimaces at how swollen the wrist is, and the impressive bruise beginning to form on it isn’t making Bruce feel any better about what he’d done.

"Do you think it's broken?" Bruce asks and Joker shrugs.

"Dunno," Joker says and bends his wrist and fingers carefully. "Probably not. Feels like the cartilage's been busted," he continues and offers his hand back to Bruce who decides to trust Joker's judgement and simply wraps the wrist up.

"All done," Bruce says when he's finished with the bandage. They just sit there for a while in a comfortable silence, with Bruce still holding Joker's hand and absently rubbing circles on his bandaged wrist. Joker eyes Bruce curiously though Bruce doesn't notice it, he's too lost in thought as he studies the pale expanse of Joker's skin.

"What're you thinking?" Joker asks softly. Bruce snaps out of his thoughts and drops Joker's hand as he turns away to hide the blush he can't stop from spreading on his face.

"Nothing. I'm just tired," Bruce replies and ignores Joker's amused look.

"I can see that," Joker says, his voice dripping with sarcasm, and leans into Bruce's space to get a better look at his face. Bruce forces himself to stay still as Joker's eyes stare into his and seem to look right into his soul. Bruce doesn't know what Joker is trying to see but he hopes he doesn't find it.

Bruce doesn't dare to move even when Joker leans in so close he feels his breath on his face. Bruce is all too familiar with the situation, he's been in it as Batman one too many times to not know what Joker is doing, and just like every other time Bruce tries to fight off the excitement building inside him.

The corner of Joker's mouth turns up mischievously and he gets close enough to Bruce for their noses to touch. Bruce is almost shaking, with anticipation and the desire to run. He should pull away, he should do something, but Bruce is tired and he doesn't have the energy to fight.

Bruce doesn't pull away it when Joker lips press against his own. He lets Joker wove his fingers into his hair and pry his mouth open with his tongue. Bruce lets himself drown in the taste of Joker as that familiar grin spreads against his lips.

It's too much and not enough and Bruce buries his fingers in Joker's damp hair and pulls on it to get control of the kiss. Joker moans and bites Bruce's lip hard enough to draw blood. It stings and and Joker nips the cut and licks it, and forces his tongue and the taste of blood into Bruce’s mouth.

Bruce isn’t in control.

Joker is pulling his hair and alternating between crushing their mouths together and giving Bruce’s bleeding lip gentle little lick and he smells like Bruce’s soap and antiseptic and Bruce can do nothing but hold on.

Joker laughs into the kiss and Bruce jerks away fast, breathing hard and staring at the brightly grinning Joker in shock.

"Aren't you full of surprises," Joker purrs and tries to pull Bruce back into his arms, but Bruce refuses to move.

He can't do this.

Joker narrows his eyes at Bruce and digs his sharp nails into his back, and Bruce knows he's about to get hurt. Joker's eyes widen and he lets go of Bruce, falling on the bed as he loses his balance. Joker gazes up and smiles almost gently at Bruce, and the blood on his lips colors his mouth in a grotesque mockery of his usual lipstick.

"Didn't you make breakfast?" Joker asks sweetly and Bruce feels like he's being offered an easy way out of the situation. He grabs it with both hands.

"Yeah. I should check on it." Bruce bolts up, looking at anything but Joker. Bruce ignores the muffled laughter coming from the bed behind him as he hurries to the door and out of the room as fast as he can.

Bruce doesn't stop until he's leaning against the counter, breathing fast and trying to stop himself from shaking. He can't believe he just kissed Joker. Sure he'd thought about it before, but that was just a natural consequence of the complicated relationship they have. Bruce spent years telling himself that any thoughts or dreams or fantasies he’s had about Joker were because of the intensity they fought with and Joker telling him they belonged together, and the jokes and innuendo and sweet nothings he throws at Bruce as they try to tear each other apart. Maybe something had stuck inside Bruce's mind and grown into the rotten thing that pushes Bruce towards Joker.

Bruce counts to ten and pulls himself together. He pushes himself up and focuses on making sure the breakfast is still edible even as his hands still shake, The coffee has gone cold so Bruce makes more and helps himself to a sandwich. It isn't until Bruce has calmed down and is pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee that Joker finally emerges, and Bruce is grateful he's washed the blood off his face and put on the clothes Bruce had left out for him.

"You've got a really comfy taste," Joker says and spreads his arms to show off the too big clothes. Bruce almost smiles when Joker does a little twirl and flaps the sleeves covering his fingers with a silly smile on his face.

"Take a sandwich," Bruce says and points to the plate on the kitchen island, and Joker grabs one as he beelines for the coffee. Bruce gets him a cup and moves out of the way, and if he's keeping his distance it's his business. Joker raises an eyebrow and glances at Bruce but he doesn't say anything as he sits down on the floor with his coffee and the sandwich. Joker keeps watching Bruce with a contemplative look while he stuffs the sandwich into his mouth, and Bruce ignores him to the best of his abilities and tries not to yawn as he drinks his coffee.

"Now you look tired," Joker remarks and Bruce almost says he's been up for two days so of course he's tired, but thinks better of it.

"You don't look much better yourself," Bruce says instead and glances at the shadows under Joker's eyes. Joker laughs and shrugs.

"I'll take the couch?" Joker offers with a sly grin. Bruce wants to smack that look off of his face and tells himself he won't fall for it, he won't tell Joker he don't mind him in his bed.

"I mean, you do look a bit agitated. Feel free to have your crisis in peace," Joker continues and his grin widens when Bruce scowls.

"Do whatever you like," Bruce says before thinking and he knows he'll regret it when Joker's eyes gleam dangerously.

Bruce finishes his coffee and sandwich quickly and walks as briskly as his tired legs allow away from Joker without another word. Bruce gets into the bedroom and takes the leftover gauze and the towels Joker left on the floor back to the bathroom to busy himself, and he sighs heavily when he sees Joker's soaked clothes scattered across the floor. Bruce considers leaving them there but he figures Joker will be out of his hair faster if he'll have his own clothes to put on so he hangs them out to dry.

Once Bruce is done he flops on the bed with a groan and tells himself he's just going to relax for a minute before making sure Joker doesn't do anything stupid. He dozes off and he doesn’t hear Joker come in, but he jolts awake when Joker climbs on the bed and pulls the covers over them.

"Get some sleep sweetie," Joker mumbles and snuggles against Bruce's side. Bruce doesn't have the energy to push him away so he resigns to his fate and lets Joker pull his arm around himself. He falls asleep to the sound of Joker's soft breathing and the feel of his body pressed against his.

 

* * *

 

Alfred knows something is going on with Bruce, and Bruce can tell he's trying his hardest not to question him about it. He feels bad for keeping secrets from Alfred, but it's better than telling him about Joker. Tim is suspicious too, but he’s leaving to stay at the school for a few weeks and Bruce is making no objections to that. He can deal with one pair of eyes on him, but two of them is too much.

Bruce touches his lip absently as he stares at the computer screen with unfocused eyes. He can still feel the sting from where Joker bit it two weeks ago. He had hoped that after kissing Joker he'd gotten that particular need out of his system, but instead Bruce keeps thinking about it and replaying the moment in his mind over and over again. He wants to feel Joker’s lips on his own again.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred's concerned voice brings Bruce out of his thoughts and he drops his hand quickly.

"I'm fine, just thinking," Bruce says and focuses on the computer screen again. Gotham seems to be going through a lull, and though Bruce dreads what will come after it he doesn't mind taking it a little easier for a while and getting some well deserved rest.

Alfred places a cup of tea in front of Bruce and glances at the computer but doesn’t comment when he sees the most recent file Arkham has on Joker. Bruce nods his thanks and leans back in his chair with a sigh. His eyes are starting to hurt from staring the screen for hours and he rubs them to get the burning sensation to stop. He’s been reading Joker’s latest diagnosis for an hour trying to convince himself the doctors at Arkham know what they’re doing and someday they will find a way to help him, even though they seem to be as clueless as ever.

"Any chance you'll take the night off?" Alfred asks.

"I won't be long," Bruce promises and smiles reassuringly. Alfred raises a disbelieving eyebrow and nods slowly, and Bruce ignores him in favor of his tea. He takes a gulp and immediately regrets it as the scalding liquid burns his tongue. He doesn't miss the small smirk on Alfred's lips as he walks past Bruce and leaves him to his thoughts.

Bruce finishes his tea before suiting up and heading out on patrol.

He stops a couple of muggings and keeps a close eye on a young kid making his way home through dark alleys, and the routine of it all makes it easy for Bruce to let his mind wander. He does his best to keep Joker out of his mind but his thoughts keep drifting back to him. If he’s honest he's a little annoyed Joker hasn't tried to contact him after their kiss, and Bruce keeps worrying he did something wrong. He tries not to think that maybe he should've just gone along with Joker's wishes and kissed him again and seen where it would've taken them.

Bruce pushes all thoughts off Joker away from his mind as he stop by GCPD to see if Gordon has anything for him.

"No sign of Joker?" Gordon asks when Bruce lands on the rooftop. Bruce bites his tongue and shakes his head. "Well here's hoping he's not coming back," Gordon says and raises his coffee mug a little.

Bruce frowns in irritation and he’s glad Gordon can’t see it. He isn't entirely sure why he's not telling Gordon Joker is alive, he could say he's heard a rumor and that would be enough. Bruce doesn't care to examine his reasons for protecting Joker too closely, at least not yet, because that's what he's doing, he's protecting him. If Gordon thinks Joker is alive he'll start a manhunt and Bruce isn't about to do that.

"Who am I kidding?" Gordon sighs before Bruce can say anything. "That clown bounces back from everything like a god damn rubber ball."

"Maybe he'll bounce back slower this time," Bruce offers. Gordon scoffs and shakes his head. Bruce thinks it’s a good time for him to leave, and he waits until Gordon turns his back before disappearing into the shadows.

Bruce stays out close to sunrise. He had checked the hideouts he knows Joker uses out of principle but he hadn't found anything, and Bruce makes sure his route back home takes him past Joker’s place in the East End so that he can check on him without making what he’s doing obvious. The whole building is dark so Bruce can't be sure if Joker is in fact home and there’s no way he’ll go into the apartment to check, but Bruce hopes he's resting and letting himself heal for a change.

Alfred is still awake when Bruce gets home but he looks too tired for Bruce not to tell him to go to bed.

Bruce goes on about his routine on autopilot, and by the time he's lying in his bed wide awake twiddling with his phone without thinking what he's doing he begins to realize that he might not have as much control over this thing he's let Joker drag him into as he thought he did. Bruce looks at the number Joker had used to text him and thinks about calling it or just sending a text asking if he’s alright. He ditches the idea with a scoff, he's not going to give Joker that power over him. Joker will show up when he feels like it, but even as Bruce drops the phone on the nightstand and turns his back to it he can’t help but worry something might be wrong.

Bruce tries not to be concerned about Joker, especially around Alfred, and when there's a mass breakout at Arkham he's almost grateful for it. He just wishes the welcomed distraction didn't come with a body count. Dick comes from Bludhaven to give Bruce and Tim a hand with the breakout and Bruce lets him deal with Arkham while Tim and he goes after the ones who managed to escape. Bruce leaves catching the less dangerous inmates to the police and Tim and focuses on tracking down the more dangerous escapees as fast as possible.

Bruce finds Crane after a little searching and tries not to smirk as the man curses like he's suppressing a need to stomp his foot on the ground. Crane doesn't even try to fight as he's handcuffed and delivered to Gordon, and Bruce considers himself lucky to have caught Crane before he got to his stash of fear toxin. He’s is a lot easier to deal with in his Arkham issued washed out jumpsuit than his Scarecrow attire.

"I didn't even do anything yet!" Crane tries one last time as Bruce hands him over to the care of the police.

Bruce manages to track down Tetch and Dent before sunrise but he loses track of Nygma. Bruce tells himself that three out of four is good enough as he takes Dent to Arkham that is once again under the control of the staff.

"Maybe you should focus on finding the clown and leave the rest of us in peace," Dent grumbles when Bruce drags him up the steps of Arkham Asylum. Bruce grits his teeth and doesn't say anything, but he's a little pissed that Dent had to remind him of Joker just when he'd gotten him out of his mind. "Or maybe you don't want to throw him in here with the rest of us," Dent continues and his voice takes a mocking tone. Bruce reminds himself that practically everyone knows about Joker's obsessive crush on him and sometimes people, especially the criminals, like to rub it in his face or imply it's mutual. Bruce has never been a fan of it but after what happened the last time he and Joker met it has a whole new sting to it.

Bruce hands Dent over to the guards waiting for them without a word and walks away.

"Hey, what's the hurry?" Dick calls after Bruce as he strides through the paved yard. Bruce doesn't slow down to wait for Dick but he still catches up to him.

"Is something wrong?" Dick asks and eyes Bruce speculatively. "Is it something we can talk about or are you gonna sit in the dark brooding?" Bruce doesn’t say anything.

"Brooding it is then," Dick concludes with a solemn nod.

Bruce doesn't object when Dick jumps in the passenger seat of the car and chats about his time in Bludhaven. It's nice and familiar, and Bruce lets himself relax a little. Dick says he'll stop by the manor to say hi to Alfred and Tim, and Bruce tells him they’ll be happy to see him.

Alfred is more than happy to have Dick back in the house and the two of them quickly enter a hushed conversation that Bruce is clearly not welcomed into. Tim comes out of the shower a few minutes later and barely says hi to Bruce before Dick drags him into the conversation. Bruce lets them talk and focuses on getting out of his suit before taking a long hot shower. He'll sleep for a few hours and find Nygma after that, and he'll even make an effort to find Joker for good measure.

Still, despite his efforts Bruce doesn't catch either Joker or Nygma. Instead they are caught by the police a week later when they get into a shootout with the mob in broad daylight, and Bruce follows the ordeal from the news with a mix of disappointment and relief filling him.

Bruce winches in sympathy when Joker kicks one of the officers trying to restrain him in the head. Joker may not look like it but he packs a punch and Bruce knows from experience that Joker kicks harder than he has any right to. Joker gets dragged away along with Nygma as he screams murder at the people around him, and Nygma seems to be bargaining with the officer walking him to a car. Bruce thinks he sees some of Black Mask's men among those being arrested.

"Let's hope we won't be seeing them for a while," Alfred's voice comes from behind Bruce's shoulder. Bruce nods even though he's not sure he agrees, a part of him wishes he could've seen Joker before he got caught, but he's also relieved Joker is back in Arkham so that he can finally breathe more freely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got 35k more to edit and a bit more to write before this is finished so you'll probably get the next part pretty soon.
> 
> Comments are always welcome and I'm also on [tumblr](http://saremina.tumblr.com) if you wanna say hi to me there :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not think I'd get this up this quick. On the other hand I've never liked editing a fic before.
> 
> So... Have fun!

Joker stays in Arkham for two months without making any trouble, though Bruce is sure he's just planning his next big performance and healing his wounds in relative peace before breaking out. Bruce pretends he's not waiting to hear the news of Joker's escape every time he turns on the news. He's used to Joker getting under his skin but usually he can shake his effect on him in a few days.

Not this time.

It's almost like Joker has found that one weak spot in Bruce's defense and slithered inside it and made a home in the back of his mind where he can whisper sweet nothings to Bruce when no one is around.

Bruce pushes Joker out of his mind and forces himself to focus on the party Alfred had talked him into attending. It's not Bruce's idea of fun night out but if it makes Alfred happy it'll be worth it, and there’s always the chance Bruce actually ends up enjoying himself.

"Don't stay up too late," Bruce jokes on his way out and gives Alfred a stern look, though the smile tugging at his lips ruins the effect.

"I'll try my best," Alfred promises and does a better job at keeping his pokerface than Bruce did.

Bruce takes one of his father's cars and makes a point of following every traffic law he can think of just so he can be fashionably late, and when Bruce finally arrives at the hotel the party is at he figures he shouldn't be surprised to spot Selina at the lobby. Bruce relaxes a little and makes his way to her without catching her attention and tries not to grin at Selina's almost startled expression when Bruce touches her arm.

"Sneaking up on people isn't polite," Selina scolds him but the smile tugging at her lips takes the bite out of her words. Bruce would apologize but Selina is one of the few people he has trouble catching off guard so he lets himself revel in the accomplishment.

"Didn't know you'd be here," Bruce says as he scans the floor. He's not surprised to see the usual faces of Gotham's richest, as well as some well accomplished businessmen and the likes. He doesn’t want to be there.

"I was bored and there's a free bar," Selina replies. Bruce can relate to that and asks Selina to show the way. Selina hooks their arms and guides Bruce through the mass of people to the bar and orders them both drinks, and Bruce lets her be in charge if it makes her happy and accepts the offered drink with a smile. He almost asks if she really went on a road trip with Harley and Ivy just to find out if Joker had lied to him, but thinks better of it.

Bruce spends a few hours circling the floor with Selina by his side, chatting with people and wishing for an excuse to leave. Selina takes the lead on the socializing almost immediately, and it's one of the reasons Bruce doesn't bolt out of the doors the second he's spent the expected time in the party.

Still, Bruce doesn't have to wait too long for a reason to excuse himself from the company, and he tries not to look too pleased when his phone rings and he has to move aside to take the call. He barely notices Selina’s curious eyes on him as he leaves her side.

Bruce doesn't recognize the number but despite his reservations he answers the phone casually as he hurries to a more secluded place to talk.

"Hiya sweetie, did ya miss me?" Joker's cheery voice comes through the line and Bruce nearly trips. He opens his mouth to say something but no words come out, and he doesn’t want to have this conversation with people around him.

"You're not gonna say anything?" Joker asks less happily. Bruce tries to slow his breathing and stay calm as he reaches an empty corridor where he feels like he can talk.

"I thought you're in Arkham," Bruce says quietly and leans on the wall for support.

"I was. I got tired of the food," Joker replies. "I could use a ride."

"Don't you have someone else to pick you up?" Bruce asks even though he’s been waiting for an excuse to leave for the whole evening.

"Yes," Joker answers and the expectant silence that follows makes Bruce realize he's being played. He should hang up and just go home. Joker can call someone else to pick him up. The silence stretches until Bruce sighs and resists the urge to bang his head on the wall.

"Where are you?" He asks in the end and the resignation is clear in his voice. He tells himself that at least this way he won't be putting his family in any immediate danger by rejecting Joker, and if he’d rather be with Joker than at the party then that’s his business.

"You know the annoyingly long and straight road that leads to Arkham?" Joker asks and Bruce admits to being familiar with it. "Just come to the end of it," Joker continues and tells Bruce to hurry up before hanging up without a warning.

It takes Bruce a moment to gather his bearings before he makes his way back to Selina to apologize for leaving, and though she gives him a curious look she doesn't press it. Bruce almost wishes they could work out as a couple as he hurries outside.

Bruce gets into his car and drives away without thinking about what he's doing. He knows if he stops even for a second he'll change his mind, so he keeps his mind blank as he drives through the city with the radio turned on to fill the silence.

It doesn’t take long for Bruce to reach his destination, and the long road to Arkham with its warning signs opens up ahead of him. Bruce feels lighter the second he spots Joker sitting on a graffiti covered rock under a large umbrella Bruce is almost certain belongs to Cobblepot.

Bruce stops the car and grips the steering wheel hard enough for his knuckles to turn white while Joker takes his time to fold the umbrella and straighten out the purple coat he must have gotten from Arkham's storage. He’s got his trademark red lipstick on but other than that his face is makeup free, and he looks eerie in the bright shine of the headlights.

"You got here fast," Joker says and smiles at Bruce as he gets into the car. Bruce doesn't say anything even though he a little curious about Joker's lack of shoes. He’s not sure why Joker has gone through the trouble of getting his coat and lipstick, and Cobblepot’s umbrella but not even a pair of slippers. Instead of asking Bruce starts the car and heads back to the city, figuring he either got interrupted mid-stealing or it’s just one of Joker’s many quirks.

Bruce lets Joker change the radio channels as he pleases until he finally settles on a channel playing some old rock song Bruce knows he's heard before even though he can't name it. Joker turns the heating up a little and looks around the car with curious eyes.

"This is nice," Joker comments and waves his hand around the cramped space.

"It was my fathers," Bruce admits quietly and keeps his eyes glued to the road.

"Well why didn't you say so sooner? I'm tracking dirt all over. And you can smell the swamp on me. And the crazy everyone catches in Arkham just clings to you and won't go away no matter how many showers you take. It's exhausting," Joker sighs dramatically and slumps on his seat.

"It's fine," Bruce assures him. "Where am I taking you?"

"Home," Joker answers and slides even deeper into his seat.

Joker hums along the radio while Bruce gets them to their destination. Bruce briefly entertains the thought of driving Joker straight to the GCPD but he doubts he'd get them there before Joker would kill him.

"You look like you're coming from a party," Joker says suddenly and Bruce glances down at his suit. He'd forgotten all about the party already.

"Yeah. It was a monthly get together," Bruce says and doesn't bother to mention he doesn't usually attend the party.

"So you left all your rich friends behind for me? I'm touched.” Joker bats his eyes and places his hands over his heart as he stares at Bruce with faux adoration for a moment before he cracks and starts giggling.

Bruce isn't sure why he missed his company.

Joker keeps cracking up every few minutes until they reach his apartment building and Bruce hits the breaks a little harder than necessary, and though Joker gives Bruce a look he doesn't comment on the sudden stop. Bruce turns to properly look at Joker for the first time and he's a little taken aback when he sees the strangely guarded look in Joker's eyes.

"Come up," Joker says, and Bruce hears the command behind the casual tone and he wonders what Joker is playing at.

"I got somewhere to be," Bruce says against his better judgement though he's a little curious to see how far he can push his luck.

"Yeah. At my place," Joker replies and his eyes turn cold. Bruce figures it's best not to argue with him any further and turns the engine off with a frustrated sigh. Joker tilts his head and makes a sound like he can't quite believe Bruce's attitude.

"Let's go then," Bruce huffs and gets out of the car before Joker can say anything. He slams the door shut as hard as he dares and marches towards the building without waiting for Joker, though he can hear him scramble after him.

"What's the hurry?" Joker asks when he catches up to Bruce and throws an arm around his shoulders. Bruce doesn't push him away like he tells himself he should, instead he lets Joker set the pace and follows him inside and up the stairs.

Joker stops to get a lock picking set from a hidden wall panel before taking Bruce's hand and pulling him up the final flight of stairs to his front door. Bruce leans on the wall while Joker picks his own front door with an offhand comment about never having his keys with him in Arkham.

"Ta da!" Joker pushes the door open with a proud smile. It takes Bruce a second to remember he's not supposed to know about Joker's frankly scary lock picking skills and act like he's somewhat impressed. It's enough to please Joker and soon Bruce is waved inside of the dark apartment with a dramatic bow.

Joker throws his umbrella into a corner and pulls the door close, leaving them  trapped in darkness. Bruce tenses and instinctively prepares for an attack as he takes a silent step away from the door, listening carefully for any sounds Joker makes, and does his best to remember the layout of the apartment. The darkness lasts for only a few seconds before Joker flips the switch but it feels like an eternity. Bruce forces him to relax fast and look as nonchalant as he can while Joker saunters past him.

"I'm gonna get rid of this," Joker says and motions at his clothes. "Don't touch anything." He disappears and leaves Bruce standing in the middle of his home. Bruce resists the urge to snoop around and he almost regrets not breaking in while Joker was in Arkham, but it hadn't felt right. Bruce lets his eyes roam around the space as he makes his way to the couch and sits down, wondering why there's no layer of dust covering everything.

The apartment doesn't look much different from when Bruce was there the last time. There's a few new books lying on the table and Bruce doesn't want to know what the strange chest placed haphazardly in a corner has in it, but otherwise everything seems to be the same.

Joker shows up after fifteen or so minutes with his lipstick fixed and hair damp from a shower. He’s changed into clean clothes that hang on his body in a way his clothes never do. The orderlies at Arkham probably hadn't fed him like they should've, and Bruce has to force his expression to stay neutral even as he feels a flash of anger at the possibility.

"Wanna get takeout?" Joker asks and his grin is a little too wide and excited to look sane.

"Sure," Bruce agrees without really thinking about it.

"I need your phone," Joker says with a sweet smile and offers Bruce his hand expectantly. Bruce resists the urge to glare at him and hands over his phone a little reluctantly without bothering to unlock the screen. Joker frowns for a second before shrugging and starting to pace slowly as he works on the code.

"Need help?" Bruce asks after a moment and fights back a smile. Joker shakes his head and continues to pace the room, and Bruce watches him closely and resists the urge to offer his help again.

Bruce gets tired of Joker's pacing after a few minutes and he grabs the phone when Joker passes the couch. He ignores the annoyed stare directed at him and unlocks the screen before handing the phone back to Joker, and though Joker doesn’t look too happy with Bruce’s antics he doesn’t comment on them either.

"What do you want?" Joker asks as he starts pacing again. Bruce hesitates for a second before telling Joker to decide.

"Chinese," Joker states and wanders to the kitchen while he orders their food.

Bruce listens to Joker's voice and lets himself relax, he's missed Joker even if it's not something he's proud of. Joker comes back with a glass of water and forks before Bruce can delve too deep into his thoughts, and he flops down next to Bruce with a content sigh.

"Why did you want me here?" Bruce asks and does his best to sound more casual than he feels. Joker clicks his tongue with a considering look on his face, and hands Bruce his phone back.

"You're keeping me company. Do you have any idea how boring an isolation cell gets?" Joker answers lightly. "And we're having dinner. Nobody likes to eat dinner alone. It’s just sad and I’m not ready to be an old spinster about to be eaten by my pets," he continues. Bruce gets the feeling that isn't the entire truth and he’s about to press it when Joker makes a face at him and rolls his eyes.

“Just stop complaining and wait for the food," Joker orders and kicks Bruce's leg with a little too much force for it to be friendly. Bruce scowls at Joker who lets out an amused huff and closes his eyes, and Bruce considers saying something about Joker's attitude but decides it's worth the risk.

The doorbell rings fifteen minutes later and breaks the heavy silence, and Bruce has never been so happy for takeout.

"Could you get that?" Joker asks without opening his eyes. Bruce raises an eyebrow and stares at Joker’s profile, and when Bruce doesn't move or say anything Joker sighs and turns to look at Bruce with a bored expression.

"If I have to open the door I'll kill the kid behind it so he won't call the cops on me. And it'll be your fault," Joker explains patiently like Bruce is a small child. Bruce doesn't need more encouragement to hurry to the door.

The teen bringing their food doesn't react in any way to having Bruce Wayne pay for the delivery in one of Gotham's less safe areas, and Bruce tips him way more than he probably should. After he closes the door Bruce spends a second wondering if he just accidentally bribed the kid to keep his mouth shut before taking the bag to Joker.

"Thank god for real food," Joker moans and grabs the bag from Bruce without so much as a thank you. Bruce lets Joker pick what he wants from the bag and sits back down. At least he’ll be getting food into Joker.

The smell of the food makes Bruce realize how hungry he is, and when Joker hands him a container and a fork Bruce doesn't think twice before digging in. The silence they eat in is pleasantly relaxed and Bruce has the fleeting thought that he wouldn't mind having more moments like this in his life.

"So what did you do without me around to entertain you?" Joker asks after a minute.

"Nothing worth mentioning," Bruce replies, but Joker just stares at him blankly and Bruce knows he needs to elaborate. "Work mostly. Statistics, boring meetings, paperwork," he offers before stuffing his mouth full so he has an excuse not to talk.

"So you don't just sleep all day and party with pretty girls all night?" Joker teases. Bruce shakes his head and smiles despite himself. He's not sure why people think he does nothing but party and spend money, but he never bothers to correct anyone who thinks so.

"Well then it's a good thing I'm here," Joker says and nudges Bruce with his elbow. It's nice and familiar in a way nothing with Joker has any right to be.

"Now go get me another glass of water," Joker orders suddenly and Bruce isn't sure why he expected them to be able to stay in that almost comfortable state for more than a few minutes.

"Get your own water," Bruce snaps before he can think better of it. Joker's expression doesn't change but Bruce still feels cold all the sudden. 

"Just stop bossing me around," Bruce says more calmly and leans back slightly to put some distance between them.

"No," Joker replies. He's still waiting for Bruce to do as he's told, but Bruce has no interest in being bossed around anymore. It's stupid and dangerous but he makes a point of ignoring Joker and settling as comfortably on the couch as he can. Joker stares at him incredulously and it would be highly satisfying if Bruce wasn't worried about getting stabbed with a fork.

"Oh you are such a treat," Joker chuckles and puts his container on the ground, and Bruce does his best not to let the anxiousness he feels show on his face as Joker takes the container from his hands and puts in on the floor with his own.

Joker leans over Bruce and traps him on the couch with a wicked grin on his face, and if Bruce wasn't so worried for his own safety he'd be mad at himself for the spark of anticipation igniting in him when he feels Joker's breath on his face.

"Just so you know, arguing with me rarely ends well," Joker says and gives Bruce a pointed look.

"I'm counting on you liking me more alive than dead," Bruce replies, keeping his voice calm despite the excitement building in his gut. He barely notices Joker climbing on his lap and wrapping his arms around his shoulders.

"Maybe I like you doing what I tell you to do," Joker says. He runs his fingers along Bruce's neck softly and it sends shivers down Bruce's spine, and he puts his hands on Joker's hips without thinking what he's doing.

"I think you'd get bored." Bruce keeps his voice steady even as he feels he's quickly losing control of the situation.

"Maybe," Joker drawls as he starts playing with the hairs at the base of Bruce's neck. and he tightens his hold on Joker without realizing what he's doing. Bruce hates himself for enjoying Joker's touch and that he doesn't want it to stop. He can't even blame alcohol this time.

"Or maybe I like you doing what I say," Joker says with a sweet smile on his lips.

Bruce should quit while he's still relatively safe. It wouldn't be that much trouble to get Joker his glass of water but he kind of wants to see what will happen if he'll push his luck just a little more.

"I doubt it," Bruce says and gives Joker his most charming smile. Joker snorts and leans forward so their foreheads are touching.

"You're adorable," Joker mutters almost fondly and grabs a hold of Bruce's face with force that borders on painful and kisses him briefly before jumping off of him and bolting to the kitchen.

Bruce barely has time to process what happened before he's left alone with the phantom feel of Joker's lips on his own. He doesn't let himself regret failing to kiss Joker back or throw him off of his lap, Bruce isn't even sure which. He just knows he should’ve done something.

Joker comes back with a glass of water before Bruce can get his thoughts back together, and he makes a show of lifting the glass and he looks at Bruce like he's waiting for an applause for his efforts. Bruce rolls his eyes and smiles despite himself. Joker sighs dramatically and saunters over to the couch to kick Bruce's leg on his way to what Bruce assumes is a bedroom.

"Show yourself out if you're not gonna stay," Joker calls over his shoulder. "I'll tell you a secret if you do though," he continues before disappearing out of Bruce's sight.

Bruce gets up and takes a couple of long strides toward the front door before stopping. He's not sure why he's not just rushing out of the building. He shouldn't stay, Joker won't tell him anything he doesn't already know or if he does it'll have no meaning or use for him. Bruce tells himself to get out as he takes a step away from the front door. He tells himself it's not worth it as he turns around and follows Joker. He needs to go home and wait for the inevitable call from Gordon.

Bruce tells himself he'll just see what Joker will tell him before leaving as he reaches the cracked door. He takes a deep breath and calms his mind before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

Bruce keeps his steps quiet as he ventures deeper into the dark room. He'd been right about it being a bedroom, and as his eyes adjust to the darkness he spots Joker curled on the bed. seemingly oblivious to Bruce’s presence. The air is stuffy and Bruce wants to open a window but he doesn't dare to wander around the room, and the bright lights of the city filtering through the heavy curtains are hiding any possible latches.

Joker doesn't make a sound when Bruce sits tentatively on the bed. He's not sure what his next move should be but Joker takes the decision out of his hands by reaching to pull Bruce to lay next to him on the stuffy covers. Bruce settles on his side, facing Joker and wishing the lighting was just a little better so he could try to read Joker’s expression.

"What's the secret?" Bruce asks before Joker gets a chance to distract him.

"I don't have a gag reflex," Joker deadpans and manages to look serious for a good two seconds before cracking up and falling into a fit of laughter. Bruce shoves Joker and scoffs. He should've just walked away.

Joker calms down after a moment and his face turns serious as he searches for something in Bruce's eyes. Bruce tries his best to keep his expression open even though everything in him screams for him to hide before Joker sees into his soul and finds out his secrets.

Joker scoots closer to Bruce so they're almost touching and smiles softly. "I missed you," he whispers and Bruce can't tell if he's lying or not.

"Yeah?" Bruce doesn't like the hopeful hint in his voice but he hopes against his better knowledge that Joker is telling the truth.

"Yeah," Joker assures him and brushes his fingers against Bruce's. It seems like an accident but Bruce knows better than to believe so. "Promise I'm not lying," Joker continues and not for the first time Bruce feels like Joker can read his mind.

"It's not like I could tell if you were," Bruce points out. Joker frowns and Bruce has a second to worry he's somehow insulted Joker before he's being pushed on his back and Joker settles on top of him.

"I won't lie to you," Joker says and holds Bruce's face tightly in his hands as he stares into his eyes. "You just need to trust me." Bruce wants to laugh. He knows Joker and he knows he's being played but it'd be so easy to give in and let Joker win.There’s something strangely tempting in the idea of letting Joker have control despite the danger it would bring with it. Bruce wonders if this is how Harley felt before Joker got into her head and twisted her into something he liked.

"Just trust me," Joker whispers into Bruce's ear and leans on Bruce's temple so he has to tilt his head to the side. Bruce hates it but he doesn't dare to push Joker away. He's not even sure if he really wants to.

"Trust me Bruce." Joker's honey like voice is like poison sweeping through Bruce's veins and his breath on Bruce's neck is burning. Bruce knows better than to let himself be lulled into a sense of safety by that soothing voice, but Joker keeps tempting him.

"Come on sweetie." Bruce really should get up and leave. He shouldn't want to be there. "Trust me," Joker whispers as his lips ghost over Bruce's cheek. Bruce doesn't trust him. He can't, but-

"Okay." His voice is so quiet he's not even sure he said anything. 

Joker purrs like a pleased cat and grins against Bruce's skin. "Good," he hums as he pulls up just enough to smile down at Bruce before pressing a gentle kiss on Bruce's cheek. Bruce doesn't move. He tells himself he's not giving in to Joker, he's just playing along to see what will happen.

Bruce lets Joker tilt his head until they're facing each other and stays relaxed while Joker runs his fingers through his hair and looks at Bruce like he's something precious for him to keep.

Joker doesn't bother with being subtle when he glances at Bruce's lips before meeting his eyes expectantly, almost like he's waiting for him to back off. But Bruce doesn't want to do what Joker expects of him so he goes with a feeling and puts his arms around Joker tentatively, and the flash of surprise in Joker's eyes is worth whatever will happen next. Joker laughs quietly as he settles his weight on top of Bruce a bit more comfortably.

Bruce doesn't think how well Joker fits in his arms like this.

"Remember to say stop when you need to," Joker says and gives Bruce a second to process the words before pressing his lips softly against Bruce’s. It's a strange contrast to their first kiss, and definitely preferable to the earlier one. Bruce lets his eyes fall close and welcomes the feel of Joker's lips moving lazily in sync with his own even as he tries convincing himself he didn't miss any of this.

Joker moans softly when Bruce tightens his hold on him and digs his fingers into Joker’s hair, pulling on it and trying to deepen the kiss. Joker laughs into Bruce’s mouth breathlessly and grinds his hips against Bruce's in retaliation.

It takes his breath away, and Bruce groans and blushes, embarrassed at how fast he’s getting hard. Joker doesn't help his sudden rush of shame when he bites Bruce's lip and licks it as an apology before pulling on Bruce's hair to force him to bare his neck.

Bruce hates being in such a vulnerable position but Joker's still rolling his hips in lazy circles, and he works Bruce’s tie off and opens the buttons as he mouths at Bruce’s jaw and the pleased little huffs of breath against his skin go straight to his growing erection.

Then Joker’s licking and nibbling at Bruce's neck and pressing kisses to his exposed skin, and Bruce barely notices his shirt being pulled from his pants, the mark Joker is working to his neck is distracting him from what his hands are doing.

It shouldn’t feel as good as it does.

Joker pulls up just enough to grin at Bruce as he plays with the button on Bruce’s pants. Bruce bites his lip to keep from cursing out loud, though he's not sure if it's because of anticipation or the calculating gleam in Joker's eyes. He’s being toyed with and he can't bring himself to do anything about it. He’s not sure he even cares.

"Had enough?" Joker asks sweetly and Bruce wants to smack him.

Something must show on Bruce's face if the victorious glint in Joker's eyes is anything to go by. Bruce hates Joker for putting him in a position where he'll have to admit what he wants. He opens his mouth but can't bring himself to say anything, and Joker pouts childishly before climbing off him, leaving Bruce feeling empty.

"Suit yourself," Joker sighs as he stands up and stretches his arms as high as he can.

"Wasn't I supposed to tell you when to stop?" Bruce asks as soon as he gets his voice back, and Joker turns around to smile patiently at him.

"Shouldn't stop you from telling me to keep going," he points out. "You should look into that. Maybe something simple like, 'oh god yes please don't stop'?" Joker raises an eyebrow and tilts his head like he's trying to look cute. Bruce snorts and pulls himself to sit on the edge of the bed.

"My ego likes it," Joker says and frowns when Bruce laughs.

"That I can believe," Bruce mutters and ignores the dirty look Joker throws at him.

Joker comes to stand in front of Bruce and leans closer to cup his cheeks gently as he looks into his eyes. Bruce tries not to fidget under the piercing gaze and meets Joker’s eyes, and he manages to appear composed even though he’s worried he’s offended Joker in some way.

"Let me know when you grow a pair and can admit what you want," Joker says and slaps Bruce's cheek, and Bruce will be lucky if his cheek doesn’t turn bright red. Joker climbs back onto the bed and flops down on his stomach with a groan while Bruce rubs his cheek.

Bruce gets the impression he's just been dismissed and he almost gets up before Joker’s words sink in and he turns to face Joker.

"How am I supposed to do that if I can't get in touch with you?" Bruce asks and looks at Joker expectantly. Joker glares at him from his spot for a second before sighing and sitting up. He spends a long moment regarding Bruce with an unreadable expression, and Bruce starts to think he should've just left and waited for Joker to show up at some point again, or checked if the number Joker had once texted him from still worked.

Eventually Joker leans past Bruce to dig through the drawer on the nightstand and pulls out a marker. He's still wearing that same blank expression when he takes hold of Bruce's hand and scribbles a phone number on his palm. Bruce hopes it'll wash away. When he's done Joker throws the marker back into the drawer but instead of letting go of Bruce he grips his hand tighter to the point it becomes painful.

"Don't even think about screwing me over," Joker says too calmly and stares at Bruce in the eye without blinking. Bruce makes himself stay still and not look away even as the bones in his hand start grinding together and Joker's eyes on him become too much to bear.

Bruce thinks fast and pulls the hand Joker is gripping to his lips and kisses Joker's knuckles. "I won't," he assures quietly and rubs his thumb over Joker's fingers. "Just trust me," Bruce continues in hopes that hearing his words coming from Bruce will pacify Joker at least a little. To Bruce's relief it works and Joker laughs softly before releasing Bruce's hand.

"Go home, cuteness. Some of us need to sleep in a real bed for a change," Joker says and shoos Bruce until he gets up and gets out of the room with a goodbye thrown over his shoulder.

Bruce doesn't look at his hand until he's safely home.

 

* * *

 

 

It's not that Bruce isn't interested in Wayne Enterprises, he likes knowing things are running smoothly and seeing how everything is coming along and contributing where he can. It's just that the meetings where people throw numbers and charts in his way in either a dull monotone or with too much excitement bore him to death. Bruce already knows all the statistics and he doesn't need them explained to him.

Lucius seems to be the only person in the room who actually notices how little Bruce wants to be there and throws a sympathetic glance at him when the next person moves on to explain in great detail just what is going on in the Metropolis branch of Wayne Enterprises. Bruce nods along and pretends he's paying full attention, and he wishes he could be more interested in the meeting.

Bruce absently rubs the mark on his neck, barely covered by the collar of his shirt, and tries to figure out if four days is too short time before getting in touch with Joker or if he should wait a little longer. He's not even sure what he would say, he's never had a way to get in touch with Joker short of him being in Arkham and that wasn't exactly the ideal place for a conversation.

For the first time in his life Bruce hopes he'd have more experience with dating. He has to cough to keep himself from laughing at the thought but Lucius still throws a curious look in his way. Bruce smiles apologetically before schooling his features into something more appropriate, but he can't stop the occasional hint of smile on his face.

The meeting ends before Bruce can decide what he should do, and he gets up to see his staff off. He makes a point of exchanging a few words with everyone at the door and keeps a friendly smile on his face up until he's alone with Lucius.

Bruce slumps back to his chair with a heavy sigh and touches his neck briefly before turning his attention to Lucius who is just finishing up getting his files into his briefcase. Lucius keeps giving Bruce amused glances and he's barely holding back a smile, and Bruce manages to stay silent for almost half a minute before asking what Lucius finds so amusing.

“You seem to have someone in your mind," Lucius says with a polite smile. Bruce opens his mouth a few times before deciding he has no idea how to reply.

"Why'd you think that?" Bruce asks instead and crosses his arms before realizing it might come off as defensive, but uncrossing them now would be worse so Bruce sticks to it.

"One of the interns recently went on a date and she's been making that same face as you for the last week," Lucius replies and Bruce snorts, it's been a while since he's been compared to a twenty something student.

"Well I haven't been on a date so your radar must be off," Bruce says and shrugs as he gets up and walks to the window, wondering what the night will throw his way.

Gordon is seething at Arkham for letting Joker escape again but the media is having a blast with it. Bruce just hopes Joker stays out of trouble for more than a few days.

"I'll be sure to let Alfred know his dreams have been crushed," Lucius jokes. He comes to stand by Bruce and glances at the darkening sky. Bruce isn't worried about the oncoming rain but Lucius makes a disappointed noise and shakes his head, and Bruce turns his eyes to him.

"I was hoping to go for a walk today. Seems like that's not happening," Lucius explains before saying his goodbyes and leaving the room. Bruce takes a minute to enjoy the moment of peace before leaving the room to get his belongings from his office and heading out. He's been there since morning and Bruce figures eight hours at the office is good for that day.

Alfred is waiting for Bruce with a scone and a cup of coffee and the news that Selina had called.  Bruce promises Alfred he'll call her back as soon as he's finished with his scone, and Alfred smiles and nods and leaves Bruce to his snack.

Bruce finishes another scone before calling to see what Selina had wanted with him. He’s almost relieved when she doesn't answer and turns his phone to silent to keep it from distracting him while he gets some sleep before going out for the night.

By the time Bruce hits the streets he's almost well rested, and Tim’s excited energy by his side cheers him up. He doesn't have to see Gordon to know he's hoping for Joker to be brought in as soon as possible so he focuses on getting to the Iceberg Lounge instead.

“I’ll take the bike,” Tim says and hops on his motorcycle before Bruce can protest.

“Then you can secure the area,” Bruce replies and doesn’t bother fighting the smile tugging at his lips. Tim salutes him before driving off, and Bruce takes to the rooftops to avoid being seen and to give Tim time to actually scout the area before he gets there. It’s Tim’s case anyways so it’s not like Bruce will be taking the lead. He’s there more as support, and if he’ll need to bail Tim out of a dangerous situation at least he will be close by. Though if Bruce will have to save Tim from an art thief he’ll have to rethink having him in the streets in the first place.

He's a few blocks away from Cobblepot's club when he spots a red Camaro that makes him stop. It's the same car Joker had driven, Bruce is sure of it, and he follows the car as fast as he can.

Bruce gets Tim on the comm and hopes he won’t have to explain why he’ll be late.

“How are you holding up?”

“Penguin’s as fat as ever but my guy isn’t here,” Tim replies. Bruce doesn’t miss the disappointment in his voice.

“See if Oracle has anything and find him I’ll catch up to you later.” Bruce waits for Tim’s confirmation before turning his comm off and focusing on his target.

Bruce's heart is racing as he tries not to lose sight of the speeding vehicle, and by some kind of a miracle he manages to track it to its destination behind an office building.

Bruce stays out of sight as he watches Joker get out of the car and lean against it as he lights a cigarette, something Bruce has rarely seen him do, and pulls out his phone. Bruce wishes he could see what Joker is typing but he pushes his disappointment aside when Harley appears from the shadows and skips across the empty yard to Joker. Bruce ignores the pang he feels when she wraps her arms around Joker and kisses him before saying something to make him laugh.

Joker hands Harley the keys to the car and Bruce waits for him to walk away, and he almost does until Harley calls after him. She's waving at the car and talking fast, and it takes Bruce a second to realize she's asking Joker to go with her. Joker looks like he's about to take Harley up on her offer and Bruce needs to stop it before someone gets hurt. He almost swoops down from his spot before stopping and getting another idea.

Bruce has never been more grateful for integrating his phone to his comm link. He considers calling Joker but thinks better of it, he'd rather not risk Joker hearing the same background noises on the phone as he does around himself, so Bruce texts him instead. He doesn't let himself think what he's writing beyond making it quick and simple and something that forces Joker to pick between him and Harley.

_Do you like italian?_

Bruce hits send and hopes it's enough to catch Joker's attention. Joker is almost at the car when he pulls his phone out, and Bruce bites back a smile when Joker actually stops to look at the screen.

Harley doesn't seem too happy with the development if the way she crosses her arms and leans on the car is anything to go by, but Joker waves her off and she's smart enough to do what he says. Bruce keeps an eye on Joker as he hears the familiar beep that signals a new text, and though Joker still seems more interested in Harley than Bruce he's not getting in the car.

_Sure. Why?_

Bruce thinks fast and gets the stupidest idea he's had in weeks. It should say a lot he knows it's a bad plan without anyone pointing it out to him, but it's the best he got and he needs to be more interesting than what Harley has to offer.

_I'm at the office and I was thinking about getting takeout._

Bruce already regrets it but he doubts there's anything in his office worth stealing, at least in Joker's eyes. Bruce watches as Joker stares at his phone for a moment before laughing and typing a reply. Harley has also gotten interested in Joker's phone and from the looks of it she's not too happy Joker's not sharing.

_As in wayne enterprises office not a home office? How do you know I won't rob you?_

Bruce smiles at the reply and glances down at the duo, and feels a rush of satisfaction when he sees Joker take a step back from Harley.

_I'm trusting you not to._

Bruce hopes it's enough and watches Joker grin at his phone and back away from Harley. Bruce smiles when Joker waves Harley goodbye, and he takes a second to gloat on his own at his ability to draw Joker away from her with a couple of messages before a new text comes through and Bruce takes off towards his office and orders the food on his way.

Bruce calls Tim to let him know he’s on his own with the thief for a few hours while Bruce follows another lead, and Tim is too pleased with his freedom to question Bruce further and risk him changing his mind.

Bruce reaches the Wayne Tower in record time and to his relief the building is mostly empty with only the security and a few late workers still wandering in the halls. Bruce slips into his empty office and locks the door and changes his batsuit into an Armani one. He forgoes the tie and the jacket, and lets his hair stay ruffled to give the illusion he's been at the office for hours. He even rolls up his sleeves in hopes of selling the point.

Bruce pulls up one of the latest projects he's been working on and makes sure everything looks like he's been working for a long time before taking the elevator down. He doesn’t let himself regret his plan even though his mind unhelpfully supplies him with all the things that might go wrong.

Bruce plasters a smile on his face when he gets outside and sees the delivery guy approaching, and he chats with the guy as he pays for the food. Joker shows up a minute after the delivery guy leaves with a grin on his face, and he throws his arms around Bruce and gives him a kiss. Bruce tries not to be put off by the fact that Harley had done the exact same thing to Joker not half an hour ago.

"So do I get a private tour?" Joker asks as he takes the delivery bag from Bruce and studies the containers with an appreciative look on his face.

"You can see my office if you want," Bruce replies and starts walking to the side entrance to avoid the security, and Joker follows him with a disappointed pout on his face. He gets Joker to his private elevator without much trouble, though it's a slight miracle Joker's constant giggling doesn't draw any attention to them.

Bruce hides his nervousness while Joker circles his office and studies his new surroundings. He tries not to get annoyed at Joker picking everything up and putting the things back just a little wrong.

Bruce focuses on emptying the bag while Joker makes his way to the desk and pushes the papers aside without caring if he messes their order and hops on the cleared space. Bruce picks the papers that slid to the floor up and shoots a glare in Joker's direction.

Joker pays him no attention as he looks around the desk before zeroing in on the picture of Bruce's parents. He snatches the picture before Bruce can stop him and studies it closely as Bruce holds his breath. He gives it a few seconds before trying to take the picture back, but Joker keeps it out of his reach.

"Is this your parents?" Joker asks and waves the picture at Bruce's face. Bruce tries to grab the picture again even though a part of him screams for him to stop making a big deal out of it, he's just letting Joker know what matters to him for free.

"Think they would've liked me?" Joker continues and ignores the anger on Bruce's face as he regards the picture.

"Maybe not. Might've been fun to see you try to explain why you're into a, um, 'criminally insane clown' though. You think they'd-" Bruce wraps his hand around Joker's throat before he can finish his sentence and squeezes hard.

Joker drops the picture in surprise, the glass shattering at their feet, and grabs a hold of Bruce's arm. The shocked look in his eyes would be highly satisfying if Bruce wasn’t so angry.

"Don't ever talk about my parents again," Bruce growls and glares at Joker who nods to the best of his abilities and tries to smile even as he gasps for breath.

Bruce lets go of Joker after a second and tries to stop his hands from shaking as he kneels to pick up the shattered glass off of the ground. He throws the pieces to the trash and hides the picture in a drawer before counting to ten until his heart stops pounding in his chest. He ignores the sound of Joker trying to catch his breath as gets up to finish unpacking the food.

Joker doesn't move from his spot when Bruce puts a container next to him. He seems to be lost in his own mind as he stares at the floor and rubs his neck absently. Bruce know he'll have bruises there come morning.

Bruce sits down on his chair, and as he calms down he starts to regret lashing out.

"That's new," Joker says suddenly and chuckles. His voice is a little rough but he seems otherwise fine and if the curiosity he's regarding Bruce with is any indication he's not mad.

"Think I just fell in love," he jokes and smiles. Bruce stares at Joker with a blank expression, unsure of how he should reply. It's not what he expected and he's not sure if it's any better than anger but if he can get away with strangling Joker he'll take it.

"Just eat your food," Bruce mutters and focuses on his pasta. Joker shrugs and grabs his container and starts eating without another word. Bruce can feel Joker's eyes studying him closely and he does his best to ignore it, but he can't shake the uncomfortable feeling he gets. After a while Bruce sighs and puts his fork down.

"Look," he starts but Joker shushes him before he can continue.

"If you apologize I'm gonna stab you," Joker says and waves the plastic fork in front of Bruce’s face. Bruce shuts his mouth and nods once, tense and unsure of what to think.

"Atta boy," Joker smiles and waits until Bruce starts eating again until taking his eyes off of him.

They stay silent while they finish their food and Bruce packs the empty containers away. Joker chews his lip and stares out of the window with a contemplative look on his face, and Bruce busies himself with sorting the papers on his desk. He almost asks what Joker is thinking but he’d rather not break the uneasy silence so he keeps quiet. Instead he gets up to stretch his legs under the pretense of checking one of the files lying on the side table.

"You know what pisses me off?" Joker asks after a minute and points at Bruce without taking his eyes off of the window. Bruce tries to ignore the dread growing in him as he approaches Joker.

"I can't figure you out," Joker says and turns to face Bruce. There's a cold, calculating glint in his eyes. "I don't think I like it," he continues and Bruce knows he's in trouble.

Bruce breathes and relaxes and goes for a kind smile. He returns to his chair and sits down, and pulls Joker to sit in front of him. Bruce isn't sure what he's doing, but maybe going with a feeling is what he needs to do with Joker for a change. Joker's eyeing Bruce curiously as he goes along with his wishes and moves to sit in the middle of the desk though he crosses his arms and legs to keep Bruce at bay.

"Think of it as a challenge," Bruce suggests and gently pries Joker's arms open. Joker doesn't exactly resist but he's not helping either, and he's looking unimpressed.

"It might be fun," Bruce continues as he entwines their fingers. Slowly Joker relaxes and lifts his feet to rest on the armrests of Bruce's chair.

Bruce is trapped and he doesn't care that it's not bothering him.

"Just hope I won't be disappointed with you," Joker says a bit too gleefully. Bruce smiles and bites his tongue to keep himself from promising that won't happen. It'll be hard to keep Joker from finding out he's Batman and Bruce can only hope he's up to the challenge.

Joker looks down at their joined hands and tilts his head slowly as he turns Bruce's arm. Bruce frowns and follows Joker's line of sight to the old scar on his arm. Bruce knows Joker can recognize a knife wound when he sees one.

"Where'd you get that?" Joker asks curiously and turns his attention to Bruce's face.

"London," Bruce lies easily, he's got a dozen excuses at ready for his scars though he never thought he'd have to use them on Joker.

"And here I thought your Europe trip was boring," Joker pouts. Bruce doesn't get it at first but then he remembers telling Joker he'd backpacked through Europe.

"Telling I got stabbed in a bar fight isn't usually on top of the things I do when I meet new people," Bruce replies. Joker makes an understanding noise and leans his forehead against Bruce's as he rubs his thumb along the sensitive skin between Bruce’s fingers. Bruce closes his eyes to fully enjoy the moment.

"So do I get a kiss or did you just want to see me?" Joker asks suddenly and gives Bruce his most endearing smile. Bruce chuckles and looks at Joker for a moment before leaning up to give Joker the kiss he wants. Joker purrs and pulls his hands free so he can hold Bruce’s face, his nails digging into his skin with an almost painful sting. Bruce wants more and he tries to pull Joker into his lap, but to his dismay Joker pulls back and touches gently Bruce's lips to keep him quiet.

"As much as I'd love to see if I could coax you into office sex but I don't have my sexy secretary outfit on, and I've got places to be and people to see tonight," Joker says and actually manages to look apologetic. Bruce can't help but smile as he lets Joker go. He’ll be getting back to his patrol faster than he anticipated.

"Guess I'll walk you down then," Bruce says and gets up to grab his jacket. Joker follows him quietly and hooks their arms when he catches up to him.

"I could stop by later," Joker suggests.

"I'm probably gonna be asleep in an hour," Bruce says with a sheepish smile. Joker makes a face and lets Bruce pull him into the elevator.

"How about tomorrow?" Bruce asks as Joker pushes him against the wall and presses himself against him. Joker hums thoughtfully and pulls Bruce into a lazy kiss.

"Are you asking me out?" Joker asks against Bruce’s lips.

"Not really but if it makes you happy you can think so," Bruce replies and steps past Joker when the elevator comes to a halt.

"You're so sweet. I'm gonna be expecting champagne and strawberries. And chocolate. The expensive stuff, not the one you get from a corner store," Joker says and follows Bruce outside.

He kisses Bruce goodbye and skips into the shadows while Bruce watches, and as soon as Joker is out of sight Bruce dashes inside and gets back to his office as fast as he can. He tidies the room up a little before pulling his batsuit back on and getting back to his patrolling.

He calls Tim up to see how he’s doing, and grudgingly agrees to let Tim handle the art thief on his own, though most of his reluctance is just for show. Bruce has other things he wants to do and if Tim wants to keep busy on a safe case then Bruce isn’t going to stop him from spreading his metaphorical wings. And while Tim is busy Bruce can focus on keeping Harley and Joker away from each other.

Bruce tells himself he’s not doing it just to keep Joker focused on him instead of her. He just doesn’t like the idea of Joker and Harley having one of their infamous date to nights that tend to end badly for Gotham. Especially after they’ve seemingly broken up. They always cause more havoc when they get back together after a fight and Bruce is just preventing that from happening.

Bruce manages to track Harley down again and he doesn't hesitate to take her in, and if he feels a little better than he should about having her off the streets then that's his business. He makes a point of interrogating her about Joker’s whereabouts, and as he suspected Harley doesn’t budge one bit.

“You wanna see him so bad put an add on Gazette. ‘Lonely bat seeking homicidal clown’,” she jokes as the police escort her away and Bruce almost smiles.

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce doesn't expect Joker to call so when his phone wakes him up at noon he's a little surprised.

"Did you get the chocolate?" Joker's cheery voice makes Bruce smile tiredly.

"Not yet," he replies and yawns. He rolls onto his back and stares at the ceiling, trying to keep his eyes from closing.

"Did I wake you up?" Joker asks and laughs when Bruce yawns again.

"Yeah. It's fine though," Bruce says and pulls himself up, figuring he might as well get up now that he's awake. Joker hums and if the soft scratching sound is anything to go by he's either lost his keys or breaking into somewhere. Bruce doesn't comment on it, he's not sure he could explain Bruce Wayne recognizing the sound of lock picking through phone away.

"So I think I could get there in three hours," Joker says and it takes Bruce a second to remember Joker had promised to come over.

"I'm at the manor," Bruce says and hopes Joker won't want to come there.

"Great, I've always wanted to see what it's like on the inside," Joker replies while Bruce rubs his eyes. He hears Joker open and close a door, and if the quiet way he's going about it is any indication he's not at his home.

"No, I'll come to the city. There's staff here and I don't want to explain sending them away." Bruce hopes he doesn't sound too desperate to keep Joker out of his home. He’s more worried about Tim and Alfred finding out about Joker than anything, but Joker doesn’t need to know that.

"Jeez, fine. Wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable," Joker retorts in a hushed voice.

"What are you doing?" Bruce asks as he gets up to open the curtains. The warm sunlight assaults his eyes and he blinks rapidly a few times until his vision adjusts.

"Breaking and entering," Joker admits easily though he keeps his voice quiet. Bruce groans softly and rolls his eyes at the empty room. He doesn’t want to deal with this less than five minutes after waking up.

"Oh don't be like that. No one's getting hurt," Joker huffs and Bruce can hear a drawer being opened. He doesn't want to know what Joker is looking for.

"Get your morning coffee and get to the city. And get me my chocolate. I'll see you in a few hours.” Bruce doesn't exactly smile at Joker’s bossy tone but it's familiar and Bruce knows he could probably get away with saying no.

"Okay. Let me know when you're done," Bruce says and frowns when Joker doesn't reply immediately. The line has gone dangerously quiet.

"Might take a little longer than a few hours," Joker replies slowly. Bruce feels cold even as he asks why in a steady voice.

"I've got a gun pointed at me." Joker sounds too cheery, and Bruce doesn't dare to move even though he'd like nothing more than get into his batsuit and go get Joker.

"I'll call you in a bit," Joker says and hangs up before Bruce can say anything. It's not a good start to a day. Bruce curses and gets his clothes on before rushing out of his room. He gets down the hallway before running into Alfred, nearly crashing into him.

"Is something wrong?" Alfred asks, concern written all over his face. Bruce can't tell him the truth. He wouldn't even know where to begin, and slowly he realizes it's not like he can just suit up and rush after Joker either. Batman doesn't operate during the day and Joker would figure everything out.

"No. No, everything's fine," Bruce lies, poorly going by Alfred's expression. Alfred studies Bruce for what feels like forever before nodding.

"If you say so," he says a bit dubiously and moves out of Bruce's way. Bruce gives him an awkward smile and continues on his way, slower and more composed this time.

Bruce doesn't know what he should do, he can't go to Joker at the moment, he can't even go down to the cave to track Joker's phone with Alfred keeping an eye on him.

Bruce busies himself with getting breakfast, and he manages to eat a little even though the food tastes like ash in his mouth. Bruce reminds himself Joker can take care of himself just fine, he's been held at gunpoint before and he's still around. He'll probably call Bruce in a little while and laugh at Bruce's worry.

Bruce does his best to act casual when he leaves for the city an hour later and tells Alfred not to wait up. He calls Joker on the way but only gets the dial tone. Bruce tries to convince himself it's fine as he stops to buy Joker his chocolates. He tries to call Joker again on his way to the penthouse but gets no answer.

Joker doesn't call or show up all day, and Bruce is out in the streets as soon as it gets dark. He tells Tim to take the night off and study for a change, and though Tim makes a few protests he does as he’s told.

Bruce gets to GCPD in record time Gordon tells him about a shooting in an office of a small family business that had turned out to be owned by the mob. The police hadn't gotten there in time to prevent the crime scene from being contaminated and the owner had already cleaned most of the blood off, and what was left wasn't enough for them to get good samples out of. Bruce doesn't curse out loud but inside he feels cold. Gordon says there had been one body but they don't know who the shooter was. He hands Bruce samples of the blood they'd managed to collect without a word and asks him to figure it out.

"I'll look into it," Bruce promises and takes off. If Joker had been shot Bruce would find out, his equipment is better and the mob can't bribe him into hiding evidence.

Bruce sneaks into the upstairs office above a small accounting business and breathes in the smell of detergent and bleach hiding the smell of blood still hanging in the air. It takes him a while to find anything, but after a careful search he finds a ball pick  under an old cabinet Bruce is certain belongs to Joker. The smiley carved on the handle is a dead giveaway. Bruce grits his teeth and puts the pick away and looks for anything else the police might have missed.

To his disappointment Bruce doesn't find anything else, but he takes what he has and goes out to question everyone he thinks might know something about the incident.

Nobody's talking and Bruce stays out longer than he usually does to try to find something that would lead him to Joker. In the end Alfred calls him back from the streets, and when Bruce gets home he knows he needs to either take a step back from looking for Joker or prepare himself for Alfred's questions.

Bruce ignores the look Alfred gives him and sets the blood analysis running before promising Alfred he's heading straight to bed. Alfred looks dubious but he's too tired to argue so he just nods and waits until Bruce leaves the cave before going to bed.

Bruce is exhausted and sleep sounds like a good opinion but he's too tense to even lie down. He takes a shower and tries once again to call Joker though he knows he won't get an answer.

 

* * *

 

 

The blood samples revealed nothing new and there's no sign of Joker for a week. Bruce had caught a rumor that someone had hidden some important files in the office, and apparently it had nothing to do with the mob. It does nothing to ease Bruce’s mind.

Bruce hates it, and he hates he can't dedicate more time to figuring it out, but with no new leads and other crimes being committed Bruce has to put it in the background for a while.

It's another night in Gotham, only this time it's pouring rain. Bruce is soaked and cold, and he's tired from not having had much sleep for a week. It's an unusually uneventful night even with Tim at home sleeping off a nasty flu, and Bruce heads home at 2am.

Alfred is more than happy to have Bruce back home early and he's waiting for him with a cup of tea. Bruce smiles at him and drinks the tea while he plans on taking a bath and sleeping until noon.

Alfred has already retired for the night by the time Bruce heads to his bedroom. Bruce is still shivering from spending hours in the cold rain and he's looking forward to the hot bath, and he's already grabbing the hem of his shirt when he opens the bedroom door.

He freezes when he sees Joker lying on his stomach with Bruce's laptop on the bed, unharmed and safe. Joker glances at Bruce and frowns before focusing back on the screen and it gets Bruce moving again.

"Must've been one hell of a party," Joker comments and glances at Bruce again. Bruce ignores it and walks on shaky feeling legs to stand in front of Joker to get a better look at him. To Bruce's relief he seems fine if he ignores the slowly healing scrape on his cheek.

"Where have you been?" Bruce asks and hates that he can hear a week of concern weighting his voice.

"Were you worried?" Joker smiles and ignores Bruce's question.

"You said you had a gun pointed at you and you've been gone for a week so what do you think?" Bruce doesn't mean to come off as standoffish as he does, and Joker's smile falls off slowly.

"I tried to call you," Bruce says more gently and unfolds his arms.

"I noticed," Joker replies and pulls his phone out and taps the screen a few times. "Over 20 times," he continues and flashes the screen to Bruce briefly before throwing the phone on the bed. Bruce rolls his eyes.

"I might've been slightly concerned," he offers and for once he enjoys the sound of Joker’s laughter.

"You're so cute," Joker chuckles and sits up. "You poor thing. Need a hug?" Bruce scoffs and leaves Joker in favor of getting some water, and Joker calls after him with a petulant voice. Bruce makes a point of ignoring him up until the moment he follows Bruce to the other side of the room where Alfred has placed a fresh bottle of spring water on a table. Bruce thinks leaving the water so far from the bed is Alfred's way of getting Bruce to get up in the mornings.

"I didn't mean to worry you. I just got caught up with something," Joker says sweetly and wraps his arms around Bruce.

"I'm here now," Joker whispers and presses his face into Bruce's neck. Bruce lets the tension in his body go and holds Joker close to him, letting himself enjoy Joker’s warm weight against his body. Joker breathes deeply and makes a noise against Bruce's skin, but Bruce is too lost in his head to notice the way Joker tenses.

"You smell weird," Joker says and pulls back to look at Bruce speculatively. Bruce raises his eyebrows and tries to look as confused as he can while wishing he'd taken a shower before coming up. He prays Joker won't recognize the smell of Gotham's streets and the batsuit clinging to his skin.

"Yeah, I was at this party and there was some kind of smoke machine thing and some of the women really need to learn how to use perfume so it's probably just that," Bruce explains and hopes Joker will let it go, but if anything he looks more suspicious. Bruce makes a quick decision and pulls Joker into a deep kiss to distract him. Joker melts against him and digs his nails into Bruce's back, and Bruce pulls back before they get too lost in each other and tries not to smirk at the disappointed face Joker makes.

"I'm going to take a shower. Wait here," Bruce says and pries Joker's hands off of him.

"I could come with you," Joker suggests and tries to pull Bruce back into his arms, but Bruce doesn't budge.

"No, just stay here. I'll be back in a minute," Bruce says and nudges Joker towards the bed before grabbing a set of clean clothes and hurrying to the bathroom.

Bruce doesn't stay in the shower any longer than he has to and he hopes the only thing Joker will be able to smell on him is soap. He pulls his clothes on and checks his reflection at the mirror to make sure all his Batman related injuries are covered, and takes a deep breath before opening the door and entering the bedroom.

Joker is sitting on the bed once again, and he ignores Bruce in favor of focusing on the computer in his lap. Bruce isn’t even sure if Joker even noticed his presence. Bruce climbs on the bed and lies down next to Joker to get a glimpse at the laptop without being obvious and runs his fingers along Joker's back just because he can. He doesn’t miss the way Joker leans ever so slightly to the touch. He probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing so.

"What are you doing?" Bruce asks after a while, his curiosity getting the better of him, and eyes the numbers on the screen. He thinks they're bank records but he can't be sure without getting a better look at the computer.

"Reminding myself why I never became an accountant," Joker answers and frowns at the screen. Bruce pulls himself up just enough to lean on his elbow and looks at the screen and he does his best to be casual about it. He can feel Joker's eyes on him and Bruce is sure Joker will either move him or the computer away, but to his surprise Joker moves the computer so Bruce can see it better.

"What do you think?" Joker asks and there's challenge in his voice. Bruce knows he'll have to tread carefully and he's about to say he doesn't understand what he's seeing when he realizes he's looking at all the transactions and bank account numbers connected to all the trafficking cases he's worked on in the past year. Bruce had felt like there was something more going on in those cases but he'd never had any confirmation of it.

"I think that's a lot of money," Bruce mutters as he sits up and takes the laptop from Joker without caring if it’s okay, and though Joker gives Bruce a nasty he lets him have the computer. He leans his head on Bruce's shoulder and watches silently as Bruce studies the transactions.

"Where'd you get this?" Bruce asks with his attention still on the screen.

"Trust me sweetie, the less you know the better," Joker replies. Bruce lets it go for now and focuses on figuring out which of the accounts belongs to the ring leader.

"I'm gonna assume you understand that," Joker says after a moment and Bruce nods absently. Joker hums and moves to sit behind Bruce and starts massaging his shoulders.

"Explain it to me?" Joker's voice is light in Bruce's ear and his knuckles digging into his sore muscles feel good enough for Bruce to relax and think there's no harm in giving Joker the basics of what he's seeing.

"Well, there's a lot of different accounts from all over the world. And if I'm reading this right a lot of these are wired to dummy accounts. They’re exchanging a lot of money," Bruce explains and glances at Joker who's nodding along Bruce's words.

"Smart and cute," Joker says and looks at Bruce with something that could be affection in his eyes. "Anything else?" Joker asks and nods towards the computer. Bruce sighs and regards the screen for a second before shaking his head.

"I'd need to look at this with time when I'm not tired to get anything else out of it," Bruce says in hopes that Joker will let him keep the records for a little while.

"You might get in trouble if someone sees this," Joker says and shakes his head slowly. "It's not exactly legal stuff."

"Well maybe you should've thought of that before you took my laptop," Bruce points out and Joker digs his fingers into Bruce's shoulders in return.

"I'll think about it," Joker says and takes the laptop from Bruce to shut it down, and he pockets the USB stick with the records before leaning over the edge of the bed to put the computer safely under it. Bruce takes in the way Joker's clothes cling to his body in all the right places, and not for the first time Bruce wonders who makes Joker's clothes.

"I think we'd both be happier if you'd do more than stare at my ass," Joker says and Bruce's eyes snap up in surprise to see Joker grinning widely at him.

"Please tell me you're blushing," Joker laughs and Bruce turns his head away. He’s not blushing, he's just taken aback that Joker caught him off guard.

"Come on," Joker coaxes and climbs on Bruce's lap. "Don't be like that," he continues and takes hold of Bruce's hands and places them on his hips.

"You can touch me," Joker says softly as he cups Bruce's face in his hands.

Bruce's heart is hammering in his chest. He's terrified of what will happen if he does what Joker wants and he's tired of telling himself he can't have this and he doesn't know what to do. Something must show on Bruce's face since Joker lets go of him and climbs off of his lap with a blank expression.

"I'm gonna go find something more fun to do," Joker says, his voice unusually void of any kind of emotion, and gets up. He doesn't spare Bruce a glance as he picks his things up and heads to the door, and Bruce doubts he'll be coming back again. It scares Bruce more than he expected.

Joker is almost at the door when Bruce decides he's done with telling himself he can't have what he wants. He knows the right thing to do would be to let Joker walk away and be miserable for a month or two but he’s been telling himself no for years and he just spent a week thinking Joker might be dead.

"I've been thinking," Bruce starts, feeling more calm than he's felt in a long time. Joker stops with his hand on the door handle but he doesn't turn around.

"Were you joking about not having a gag reflex?" Bruce continues and Joker turns around with a calculating look on his face.

"Why don't you figure it out," he retorts and looks at Bruce like he's waiting to be disappointed. A smug smirk spreads on Bruce's face and does nothing to hide it when Joker tries not to look put off by it.

"Okay," Bruce says with a steady voice and braces himself when Joker drops his belongings on the floor and stalks towards the bed. Bruce waits patiently while Joker studies him, and not for the first time Joker gives off the impression of a big cat on the prowl.

Joker's delighted grin is the only warning Bruce gets before he bounces, and Bruce catches Joker before he can push him down and welcomes Joker's lips on his own. He digs his hands into Joker's hair and pulls like he's done a countless times before as Batman and revels in the way Joker moans.

Bruce works Joker's tie off while Joker bites his lip and gets enough of the buttons open so he can suck a mark on Joker's neck like he'd done to Bruce. Joker digs his uncharacteristically short nails into Bruce's back, not quite hard enough to break the skin, and the sting of it makes Bruce hiss. He has the sense to shove Joker onto the bed before he can pull Bruce's shirt off and see the scars marking his body.

Joker laughs and pulls Bruce down with him,and Bruce goes easily, trapping Joker under his body.

"So do I get into your pants now?" Joker asks and runs his nails along Bruce's sides, sending shivers down Bruce’s spine.

"Yeah," Bruce says more to himself than to Joker and leans their foreheads together, taking a second to appreciate having Joker  spread out underneath him.

Joker grins and kisses Bruce forcefully as he pushes Bruce to lie on his back, using the kiss as a distraction to get Bruce off balance. Bruce doesn’t get any time to recover from their sudden change of position before Joker is straddling his hips and running a hand along his chest. Bruce barely has the time to realize what's happening before Joker has his long fingers wrapped around his half hard cock.

Bruce stops breathing.

Joker jerks him off slowly, keeping a sharp eye on his expression, and Bruce doesn't know which is turning him on more. He grabs Joker’s hips hard enough to leave bruises to anchor himself as he thrusts into Joker’s hand.

"Try to focus on me sweetie," Joker purrs and pulls his hand out of Bruce’s pants. Bruce makes a small noise of protest that Joker silences with a brief kiss Bruce before he slides down Bruce's body with a wicked grin on his lips.

Bruce scrambles to lean on his elbows and watches as Joker settles between his legs. He bites his tongue when Joker palms him through his pants, but he can't keep from cursing when Joker replaces his hand with his mouth. Joker laughs softly against the bulge of Bruce’s cock and glances up before hooking his fingers into the waistband of Bruce's sweats.

"By the way, how much of a light sleeper is that world famous butler of yours?" Joker asks and pulls Bruce's sweats and underwear off in one go while Bruce is distracted by his words.

"Shit," Bruce mutters and bites his tongue to keep quiet. Joker ignores Bruce in favor of taking his cock in his hands with an appreciative hum and licks his lips.

Joker doesn't waste any time taking Bruce into his mouth, and he presses his tongue against the sensitive vein on the underside of Bruce’s cock as he take all of him in without choking. He smiles smugly around Bruce’s cock with his nose pressed against his hip, and Bruce grabs a hold of Joker's hair hard to have some semblance of control.

Joker moans and swallows around Bruce. It's better than Bruce ever dared to imagine and the sight of Joker kneeling between his legs in his perfectly cut three piece suit sucking Bruce off and messing his makeup is almost enough to push Bruce over. And Joker keeps making soft, pleased noises.

It's too good, and when Joker sucks on the tip of his cock and flicks his tongue while he massages the underside with his thumb Bruce comes hard into his mouth. Joker swallows every last drop while Bruce covers his mouth to muffle his cries.

Bruce is too high on his orgasm to be embarrassed for not lasting very long, but Joker doesn’t seem to mind. He climbs up and leans to give Bruce a sloppy kiss, and Bruce moans when he tastes himself in Joker’s mouth and holds Joker's face with both hands to get full control of the kiss.

Joker laughs softly and lets Bruce lick any trace of himself out of his mouth, and Bruce doesn't let him go until his lungs are burning from the lack of air. He wraps his arms around Joker and holds him tight as they catch their breath.

"Bet you'd feel amazing inside me," Joker says, his voice a little rough and a mischievous smile on his lips. Bruce groans and runs his hands down Joker's back. He's too exhausted to find out if Joker is right at the moment but he still reaches for Joker's pants, but Joker grabs his wrists before he can even brush the button and pins his arms on the bed. Bruce is too surprised to protest and he stares at Joker with confused eyes.

"You forgot to give me a real pretty please and a cherry," Joker says and flashes Bruce a bright grin before jumping off the bed and sauntering to the bathroom.

Bruce pushes himself up to look after him in disbelief. He's not sure what just happened or if he should follow Joker and wash up, but Joker comes back before he can figure it out and throws a damp towel at Bruce's face.

"You're a mess," Joker laughs and slumps back on the bed.

"Like you can talk. Did you take a look in the mirror?" Bruce counters as he cleans himself up. Joker rolls his eyes and rubs his face with the back of his hand, but he only manages to smudge his lipstick even further.

"Come here," Bruce huffs and pulls Joker closer. He makes sure he's using a clean spot on the towel before gently wiping the makeup off of Joker's face. Joker sighs but lets Bruce do as he pleases.

Bruce tries to ignore the way Joker studies him and focuses on getting the makeup off instead. He's slowly understanding that Joker just sucked him off. It feels almost like a dream and Bruce wouldn't be sure if it actually happened if it wasn’t for Joker's swollen lips and the spent out feeling he only gets from having an orgasm with another person rather than his own hand.

"What are you thinking?" Joker's soft voice snaps Bruce out of his thoughts and lets his hand fall from Joker's face.

"Nothing," Bruce replies and closes his eyes for a second. "I'm just tired."

"Liar," Joker says not unkindly and snatches the towel from Bruce's hands. He gets up and brushes the hair off of Bruce's face on his way to the bathroom.

"I'm gonna borrow your toothbrush," Joker calls over his shoulder before disappearing into the other room.

Bruce rolls his eyes and pulls himself off the bed. He gets another shirt and a clean pair of underwear before dragging himself to the bed and climbing under the covers. The softness of the bed is like heaven after the night Bruce has had, and he lets his eyes drift close while he waits for Joker to come back. He doesn't realize he falls asleep until Joker turns off the lights and climbs next to him.

"Just me," Joker whispers and snuggles next to Bruce. He's changed his clothes into one of Bruce's shirts and if Bruce was less tired he might have something to say about it, but in his half asleep state he settles for pulling the shirt a little as he wraps his arms around Joker.

"I'm keeping this," Joker says and Bruce nods as he buries his face into Joker's hair. "It smells like you," Joker continues as he settles to rest his head on Bruce's chest. Bruce realizes Joker is talking about the shirt and he smiles.

"Bet it looks good on you," Bruce mumbles. He hears Joker answer but he's too tired to process the words.

Bruce isn't surprised when he wakes up alone several hours later with no trace of Joker anywhere. He tries not to be disappointed as he gets up and goes on about his morning routine, and when he checks his phone for missed calls and is a little surprised to see a couple of messages from Joker. Bruce feels lighter when he sees the picture of Joker in the plain grey t-shirt he'd taken for himself. Bruce checks the text following the picture.

_It looks great on me_

Bruce shakes his head and smiles. He doesn't bother to reply but knowing Joker has something of his makes Bruce satisfied for reasons he's not going to look into.

Bruce is still smiling when he goes to see if Alfred and Tim have left any breakfast for him, and Tim, even in his flu induced stupor, manages to narrow his eyes in suspicion at Bruce’s happy mood. Bruce doesn’t bother with an excuse, and his good mood diminishes when he realizes he won’t be able to keep Joker a secret forever.

He has no idea what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna do a bit of writing before I edit the next part so I probably won't be getting it up as fast as I did with this, but be patient. I've got around 24k of this already written and waiting for editing so at least I don't have to figure out what happens next :)
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it took me almost a month to write this part. Mostly because I was stuck at work every day for 8 hours but still... Good thing it didn't take that long to edit this :)

Bruce can't get Joker out of his mind, and maybe that's what Joker had wanted from the start.

He's kept from calling Joker for almost a week now in hopes Joker would get in touch with him first, but Bruce doesn't have the patience to wait for that to happen anymore. He tells himself he'll give in just this once, and next time he'll wait until Joker calls him.

So Bruce picks up his phone and sends Joker a text asking if he'd like to take his new car for a ride. Joker answers quickly with a yes and Bruce smiles and calls Alfred to let him know he's going car shopping. Alfred raises an eyebrow but seems happy Bruce is doing something other than hang around the manor all day.

Bruce gets the fastest car he can find in such a short notice and tells Alfred he's taking the night off, prompting Alfred to ask if he's been replaced by an impostor and if he should alert Tim. Bruce laughs it off and tells Alfred he shouldn't wait up.

The sun has set by the time Bruce leaves to pick Joker up.

Bruce doesn't mind the hustle of the city, it's familiar and easy to disappear into and it's good for a night out with a wanted criminal. Bruce keeps to the speed limits while he goes to get Joker from a spot a little too close to the docks for his liking, but he ignores the nagging feeling in his gut when he sees Joker leaning on a wall and fiddling with his phone. He looks up when he hears the car stop and the grin that spreads on his face is comically wide. Bruce waits while Joker pushes himself off the wall and he takes his time circling the car before getting in.

"Can I keep it?" Joker asks as he leans to give Bruce a quick kiss.

"You already have my shirt. I'm keeping the car," Bruce replies and smiles. Joker pouts and turns the radio up while Bruce starts the car and drives off. Bruce doesn't care for the mainstream pop but Joker is having fun so he lets it be.

"I got you something," Bruce says, immediately piquing Joker’s interest, and pulls out the box of chocolates he’d bought earlier that day. Joker's face lights up as he snatches the box and opens it. He takes a deep breath and hums in appreciation before carefully picking a chocolate and shoving it into his mouth, and the way he moans at the taste is close to obscene and definitely distracting. Bruce considers himself lucky he's trained so hard to stay focused.

"Now this is some good chocolate," Joker says and offers Bruce the box. Bruce takes a chocolate, and he has to agree with Joker’s assessment.

"What are we doing?" Joker asks after a while and looks out of the window with curious eyes.

"Getting out of the city. Less cops, more open road," Bruce answers and flashes Joker a quick smile.

"Sounds fun," Joker says with his mouth full of chocolate and lifts his feet on the dashboard. He’s lucky Bruce appreciates the view of his legs more than he cares about the cleanliness of the car.

Joker hums along the music and it's familiar in a way nothing with Joker has any right to be. Bruce drives a little faster and takes them out of the city, and when they reach the open road he steps on the gas and revels in Joker's delighted laugh, and if Bruce is showing off a little then that's his business.

Bruce drives through dark roads and enjoys the sound of Joker's voice as he sings along the radio, slightly off key and not loud enough to warrant a comment even if it was bothersome. Bruce rolls his eyes when Joker fixes his makeup during the news, though there's something almost endearing about Joker's vanity.

"Pull over for a sec?" Joker requests when the car approaches a rest stop and his voice promises trouble, but Bruce ignores the warning and parks the car. Joker packs his chocolates away fast and places the box under his seat before turning to Bruce with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Let's have some fun," he says as he shrugs off his coat and jacket and climbs on Bruce's lap.

Bruce's whole body lights up in excitement and he helps Joker move the seat back, and suppresses a groan when Joker settles on his lap, purposefully grinding their groins together. Joker grins and tangles his fingers into Bruce's hair, tugging on it gently.

"Do I get a pretty please now?" Joker asks and smiles sweetly. Bruce chuckles and rests his hands on Joker's hips, though he’s not sure if he wants to still their minute movements or encourage them.

"I didn’t get you a cherry," Bruce points out and runs his fingers along Joker's thighs, enjoying the way Joker's eyes darken at the touch.

"I'll settle for the chocolate," Joker promises as he runs his hands through Bruce’s hair. They're so close to each other their noses are touching and Bruce wants to know if he can taste the candy in Joker's mouth. He surges forward to find out and Joker eagerly opens his mouth to let him in. He tugs at Bruce's hair and moans when Bruce rolls his hips, and Bruce doesn’t bother fighting the satisfied upturn of his lips.

"Say please," Joker urges between heated kisses. Bruce would love nothing more than to give Joker what he wants but there's still doubt and hesitation in the back of his mind, keeping him from fully giving in.

"Someone could see us," he says as an attempt to get Joker to get off of him or at least slow down, and pulls back a little. Joker rolls his eyes and sighs, and gives Bruce a patient look.

"No one's gonna come here. And if they do I'll take care of it," he promises and pets Bruce's face. Bruce leans back and closes his eyes as Joker presses gentle kisses on his face and tries to think through the pleasure clouding his mind.

"Come on Brucie," Joker coaxes and works his hands under Bruce's shirt, and Bruce opens his eyes to see if Joker notices the scars under his fingers even as he encourages Joker to move his hips.

"That's it sweetie." Joker digs his nails into Bruce's skin and kisses him. Bruce hisses and bites Joker's lip hard and savours the way Joker’s breath hitches.

"You gotta say please," Joker says against Bruce's lips. "If you wanna know what I feel like." Bruce takes a shaky breath and makes a decision.

"Please," Bruce whispers. Joker hums and frowns as he shakes his head.

"Now try that again but this time sound like you mean it." Joker smiles encouragingly and nuzzles Bruce's neck.

"Please," Bruce says again, softer and more honest this time. He closes his eyes so he doesn't have to see the satisfied smirk on Joker's face. He's not sure if this is such a good idea after all. Then Joker is opening his belt and pressing his palm against Bruce’s cock, and any doubt Bruce had flies out of his mind. He curses and thrusts against Joker's hand, getting harder every second.

"How about you try it one more time," Joker says as he wraps his long fingers around Bruce's cock and squeezes almost too hard for it to feel good.

"Please." Bruce isn't pleading but it's close and Joker kisses him as a reward. Bruce keeps repeating that one word against Joker’s lips until he gets it right, and when Joker finally approves Bruce doesn't care if he's begging anymore.

"Now that's a really pretty please," Joker praises and stares at Bruce expectantly. Bruce doesn't waste time getting Joker's pants open and pushing them down. Joker raises his hips to help him, bumping his head to the low ceiling and laughing softly into Bruce ear.

Joker moans when Bruce takes him in his hand, and Bruce can't take his eyes off of him.

Joker lets his head fall back and thrusts lazily into Bruce’s hand, his breaths coming out as soft huffs. He’s observing Bruce through half lidded eyes the whole time, and the haze of of lust barely hides the cold and calculating intelligence in them. Bruce might care about it if he was thinking clearly but he’s not, he’s too preoccupied by the way Joker feels in his arms, warm and alive and all too human.

As much as Bruce wants to jerk Joker off slowly he wants to be inside him even more. Joker seems to read his mind like he always does, and he pulls Bruce's free hand to his mouth and sucks on his fingers as he pulls a pack of lube from his pocket.

Bruce isn’t surprised he’s got it. Joker has, to Gordon’s dismay, used those same packs to get out of handcuffs more than once. Joker rips the pack open and pulls Bruce’s fingers out of his mouth with a wet pop, and coats them it the liquid that’s warmed up from being pressed against his skin.

Bruce doesn't bother being gentle when he pushes a finger inside Joker, and adds another as soon as Joker can take it. He works Joker open a little too fast to be comfortable, and if the sounds Joker is making are any indication he prefers it that way.

"Hurry up would you?" Joker demands and shoves Bruce to get him to do what he wants. Bruce chuckles and pulls his fingers out, and pours the rest of the lube on his cock while Joker whines at the sudden loss of Bruce’s fingers. Bruce has to maneuver them a little before he can align his cock with Joker’s hole.

Bruce finds Joker’s eyes before pushing himself inside him and suddenly he can't breathe. Joker's hot and tight around him and the pleased, soft noises he's making set every nerve in his body on fire.

Bruce buries his face in Joker's shoulder, muffling a groan, and holds him tight in his arms breathing in the smell of the ocean still clinging to the expensive fabric, the smell mixing with the smoke and gunpowder and Gotham that always cling to Joker.

"Come on sweetie. You won't break me," Joker breathes into Bruce's ear and rolls his hips. Bruce groans and grips Joker’s hips hard enough to leave bruises, and matches Joker's rhythm.

The cramped space doesn't allow for much movement but Bruce doesn’t mind, Joker’s pressed against him,shaking with the need to let go, and he huffs in annoyance when he bangs his head on the roof again. Bruce pulls him closer, flushing their bodies together, and mouths at the pale expanse of his neck to calm him down.

"Look at me," Joker says suddenly and forces Bruce to face him. There's a sharpness in Joker's eyes under the heavy cloud of lust and it sends chills down Bruce's spine but he can’t find it in him to care.

Joker holds his face in his hands and brings their foreheads together and presses sloppy kisses to Bruce's lips between hitched breaths.

The world outside the car disappears as Bruce loses himself in Joker. He could live on the needy sounds Joker makes and the tight heat of him wrapped Bruce's cock bringing him closer to release with every roll of their hips in a rhythm they’ve perfected during years of battling in back alleys and rooftops.

"You're so good," Joker whispers, and the praise makes Bruce moan softly. "You're perfect." Bruce grabs a handful of Joker's hair and pulls him into a bruising kiss to shut him up. Joker bites Bruce's lip hard enough to draw blood, and reaches down to jerk himself off as his movements grow more frantic.

Bruce yanks on Joker's hair to get him to tilt his head back and bites down on Joker's neck just hard enough to hurt, making Joker cry out and grind down on Bruce's cock. Bruce slams himself into Joker in response and muffles his groan on Joker's skin.

"Do that again," Joker moans and Bruce complies. He fucks Joker hard and fast, encouraged by Joker's babbling of _yes_ and _harder_ and _don't stop_. Joker comes all over Bruce with a cry and the way his body tenses around his cock pushes Bruce over the edge.

Bruce holds Joker tight as he tries to catch his breath and presses sloppy kisses to Joker’s sweaty skin. He’s barely begun to process the situation when Joker laughs softly.

"What's so funny?" Bruce mutters and pulls back to look at Joker's face. He's out of breath and flustered with his lipstick all smudged and his hair in disarray. He's never looked so beautiful.

"You are," Joker replies and kisses Bruce's nose, and Bruce crashes down from his post orgasm high fast. He's not sure what he had expected would happen and he scolds himself for not knowing better.

"Oh don't be like that," Joker laughs and pushes his cum covered finger into Bruce's mouth. Bruce wants to resist but the way Joker's eyes darken and the possessive way he touches Bruce's face stops him. "I'd be bored without you," Joker whispers and the way he smiles is, in some twisted way, almost affectionate.

Bruce licks Joker's fingers and tries not to love the taste of him in his mouth. Joker pets Bruce's face as while he licks his hand clean and kisses Bruce gently after he's done.

Bruce stays quiet when Joker pulls his pants back on before climbing off of his lap, and he takes a second to breathe before fixing his own clothing while Joker opens the door and steps out to the cool night air with his jacket in his hands. He closes the door behind him and traps Bruce in the heated space breathing in the unmistakable smell of sex that has overwhelmed the scent of a new car.

Bruce swallows down the remorse and guilt threatening to overwhelm him. It's not that he'd done the mistake of believing Joker felt anything towards him but he'd avoided that truth to the best of his abilities, and now he's sitting in a car on a remote rest stop in the middle of the night feeling used and trying not to hate himself.

The sound of a small rock hitting the window surprises Bruce and snaps him out of his thoughts, and when he glances up from his hands he sees Joker motioning for him to come out. Bruce entertains the thought of just driving away and leaving Joker stranded there but he's too tired to face the hell he'd get for doing that.

So Bruce gets out of the car and walks up to Joker with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders squared against the chill wind. The clear air does nothing to make him feel better and he doesn’t bother acting like it does.

Joker studies Bruce with amusement written all over his face as he lights a cigarette. Bruce makes a note of them being menthols as he crosses his arms and looks anywhere but Joker.

"You're upset," Joker states and looks at Bruce with puzzled eyes, breathing out a cloud of smoke that dissipates into the wind.

"What gives you that idea?" Bruce retorts and scowls before he can think better of it, and for a second Joker looks almost startled.

"Gee I dunno. The happy smile on your face?" Joker shoots back and tilts his head as he tries to figure Bruce out. Bruce sighs and weighs his opinions, and comes to the decision that fighting with Joker is something he's willing to do. He's the one with the car after all. And he can always sucker punch Joker before he knows what’s happening.

"You're gonna have to tell me what's wrong if you want me to fix it," Joker says and takes a step forward. He's still studying Bruce with that dangerously calculating look in his eyes.

"Most people are in a good mood after fucking me," Joker says and breathes smoke on Bruce's face. "And the ones who aren't usually have a reason for it. Like, once I tried to bite a guys dick off so I can understand his bad mood but that didn't happen here." Joker bites his lip and regards Bruce with something close to bafflement.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Bruce says flatly.

“I want you to tell me what's wrong," Joker replies and Bruce wants to smack that imitation of a caring look off his face.

"Nothing's wrong," Bruce says and turns to go back to the car but Joker grabs his arm and steps in his way.

"Liar." Joker furrows his brow and huffs. "You were fine a minute ago," he's talking more to himself than to Bruce, and if Joker wants to try and figure him out then Bruce isn't about to stop him.

"You were fine until-," Joker stops and his face lights up and he laughs.

Bruce sighs. He misses the warmth of the car until he remembers what it currently smells like and he chides himself for not opening a window.

"I didn't mean it as an insult. You're fun, nothing wrong with that," Joker laughs and shakes his head. Bruce hides his surprise of Joker actually figuring out what bothered him and waits for him to calm down.

"Why do you even care?" Bruce asks out of curiosity and Joker sobers up fast.

"I care," Joker says and it's Bruce's turn to laugh. Joker smacks his arm hard and frowns. "I don't want you to be mad at me," he explains and drops his cigarette on the ground.

"And everything revolves around what you want," Bruce snaps and takes a step back. Distance will be good if they're about to start a fight and Bruce needs to get between Joker and the car.

"What do you mean?" Joker asks in that too kind tone that is usually followed by brutal murder.

"I'm just wondering what'll happen now that you got what you wanted," Bruce replies even though he knows it's not smart. "I mean, you've been trying to get me to have sex with you since the first day we met. Mission accomplished. What's the point of this thing now?" Bruce motions his hand between them. He didn't expect Joker to look so hurt.

"As fun as it may be I'm not having a domestic with you in the middle of nowhere," Joker says calmly as he walks to the car and hops to sit on the hood.

Bruce watches him go and his shoulders slump as the fight leaves his body the further away Joker gets. He gives Joker a moment to calm down before going after him and taking the opportunity to open a door to let some fresh air into the car. Bruce watches Joker for any signs of danger as he leans on the space next to him and waits for Joker to speak first.

"Still not having a domestic with you," Joker says eventually and Bruce smiles.

"Good." Bruce smiles at Joker briefly and reaches to push a stray curl off of his face. "I’d just feel better if I knew where I stand with you.” Joker is quiet for a long time before turning to look at Bruce with what might be the most honest way he's ever seen Joker look at anyone.

"I like you," Joker admits and shrugs. "Not enough to risk my life for you but enough to not stab you if you say something I don't like. So feel free to speak your mind," he continues and Bruce laughs softly.

"You're fun," Joker concludes before hopping off the car and coming to stand in front of Bruce. His lipstick is still smeared and Bruce knows he's got some of it on his face. He reaches to wipe a smudge off of Joker's cheek and gets a smile for his troubles.

"Our very first domestic. How great is that?" Joker grins and falls into a fit of giggles.

"This wasn't a domestic," Bruce protests weakly even though he's trying not to laugh himself. Joker laughs and leans on Bruce for support.

"I hate you," Bruce says even as he wraps his arms around Joker.

"You love me," Joker counters and an ingratiating smile spreads on his face. Bruce takes a breath to argue but he can't quite bring himself to start another fight.

He tells himself he doesn't love Joker as Joker leans up to kiss him. Bruce licks the faded taste of a cigarette from Joker's mouth and tries to believe the twisted thing he feels around Joker is nothing more than obsession he needs to shake as fast as he can.

"Take me home," Joker whispers against his lips and Bruce nods.

He doesn't love Joker.

 

* * *

 

Bruce manages to retrieve most of the files Joker had looked at on his laptop thanks to the automatic downloading system Barbara had put in place, but explaining to Barbara how he got hold of the files makes Bruce doubt if it was worth it.

Bruce tries not to squirm under Barbara's hard stare and crosses his arms to keep himself from fidgeting. Barbara raises an expectant eyebrow and Bruce has to glance away.

"You haven't answered my question," she says calmly.

"It's better if you don't know," Bruce replies and goes for a reassuring look. "It's not really something I'm comfortable talking about with you," he continues when Barbara looks at him with the most unimpressed look Bruce has seen in a while.

"I don't want to know about your sex life," Barbara says fast and raises her hands to stop Bruce from saying anything else, and turns to her computer. Bruce breathes a sigh of relief and doesn't correct Barbara's assumption. It's better than having to come up with a reason. And if Bruce really goes for the technicalities he did get an amazing blow job along with the files.

"The files are corrupted pretty badly so I'm going to need a while to fix them before I can track down your guy," Barbara says as she studies the screens. "I'll have it to you by evening," she promises and turns to smile at Bruce before shooing him away. Bruce nods and leaves Barbara to her work.

"And stop having Alfred do my job!" Barbara calls after Bruce and he smiles as the elevator doors close on him. Bruce waits until he's outside before calling Alfred to let him know he's heading home.

Bruce would text Joker but he can't come up with anything to say, and just asking how his day is going seems silly. Joker had said he's doing something important so he can't stop by and Bruce is curious and a little worried, but thus far him sleeping with Joker has kept him out of trouble. Bruce hopes whatever Joker is doing is just some minor criminal activity or a get together with friends. If Joker even has any friends.

Alfred is waiting for Bruce with a solemn look on his face and Bruce's good mood vanishes in an instant. He asks what happened and Alfred's answer is for Bruce to just watch the news.

Bruce rushes to the nearest television and flicks through the channels until he sees the news of a man holding a dozen people hostage in an old abandoned meat packing factory. He's demanding to see Batman and in response he'll let the hostages go.

Bruce checks the clock and curses, it's still a few hours till sundown but Bruce still rushes to the Batcave and suits up, calling Tim to get to the scene as soon as he can. Bruce prepares by learning everything he can about the man who’d taken the hostages, and Alfred brings him food while he waits for the night to come.

Bruce is speeding through the streets as soon as the sun sets and he reaches the factory in record time. Gordon is already there with a swat team and a barricade talking to Tim and trying not to let his nerves get the better of him. Bruce walks up to them and Gordon fills him in on the situation. They've been led to believe the place is rigged to blow so they hadn't dared to go in, and Bruce can’t blame for that.

"His name is Andrew Ross. There's absolutely no record of any violent or criminal behavior or mental illnesses. There's an angle here we're not seeing," Gordon says and frowns at the building. He looks like he needs to rest.

"I'll take care of it," Bruce promises and motions Tim to follow him to a less crowded spot before turning to face him. Bruce levels Tim with a stern look to stop any arguments he might want to make.

“I want you to stay behind and make sure the hostages get out safely,” Bruce says and as he expected Tim takes a deep breath before thinking it over and sighing in defeat.

“Fine. But you’ll let me know if you need help, right?” Tim’s imploring tone is enough to make Bruce agree before he enters the building with Tim following at a safe distance and out of sight.

The air inside is stuffy and humid, and a thick layer of dust covers everything. Bruce takes in his surroundings as he follows the weak sound of footsteps coming from above. Bruce gets to the second level without making a sound and he spots the hostages tied together in a room next to the one Ross is in, wearing a hole to the floor and muttering quietly.

Bruce checks on the hostages and motions them to stay quiet. He makes sure nobody is hurt before cutting the chain holding them to a pipe and tells them to be very quiet when they go down the corridor where Tim waits for them.

Bruce focuses his attention on the next problem as soon as the hostages are safely with Tim, and he makes his way to Ross cautiously and tries not to startle him. Ross jumps when he spots Bruce and raises his hands in surrender, and it's obvious he's not behind the situation. He has a bomb strapped to his chest and his face is red from tears and he’s shaking. He’s terrified for his life.

"Please help me," Ross whimpers and Bruce walks up to him though he remains cautious. He makes note of the door behind Ross and the boxes stacked across the room but sees no danger besides the bomb.

"It'll blow if I try to take it off," Ross warns when Bruce inspects the padlocks keeping Ross from removing the vest.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Ross says as Bruce tells him to stay still and kneels to get a better look at the explosive. Bruce keeps an ear on his distressed babbling in case he says something relevant while he tries to figure out how to disarm the bomb. It looks simple enough, and as far as Bruce can tell it's not armed but he's learned not to take things at face value.

It takes Bruce a minute to figure out which wire he needs to disconnect to disarm the explosive, but to his surprise the bomb clicks and arms itself. The timer helpfully tells Bruce he has fifteen seconds, and the loud ticking of the countdown is not helpful. Bruce grits his teeth and ignores Ross's whimpering, and gets up to get the padlocks open.

Bruce gets two out of the three locks off before the bomb goes quiet and for a second the world stops before the bomb goes off with a colorful explosion of confetti and a loud bang.

Bruce looks at the paper floating in the air feeling stunned. He hadn't expected that.

Ross falls to his knees as he tries to catch his breath when Bruce takes a few cautious steps to get a closer look of the confetti. It's just paper, nothing more, and the whole thing is starting to seem more like a cruel prank than anything.

Bruce doesn't like it.

"The police are waiting outside," Bruce says and pulls Ross back to his feet. He opens the last lock on the vest and pulls it off of Ross, and nudges him towards the exit. "Run."

Ross doesn't have to be told twice.

Bruce waits until Ross is out of sight before turning his attention to the vest in his hands. There has to be more to it that just scaring Ross to a near heart attack. Bruce has barely begun to study the bomb when something heavy hits him in the head and he falls down.

The room spins and Bruce's head feels like it's splitting, and he's being pushed to his back before he can get his bearings. Joker's grinning face appears above Bruce and he would bang his head on the ground if it hurt any less for not realizing what was going on.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Joker asks and imitates Ross's horrified expression before falling into a fit of laughter. Bruce doesn't think it was funny but rather than argue his point he waits for the disorientation to go away while Joker circles the room and hops to sit on one of the larger boxes.

"What do you want?" Bruce asks as he slowly pushing himself back to his feet though he doubts he'll like the answer.

"I was hoping for a little chit chat," Joker replies and shrugs. "And world peace and puppies for everyone but that seemed a bit too excessive for one day."

Bruce takes a step back and waits for Joker to do something, he's too relaxed not to have some kind of an advantage to play and Bruce doesn’t like being in the dark. But Joker just sits on his box with his legs crossed and his hands clasped at his knees with an overly polite smile on his face. Bruce isn't sure how to react, so he keeps his pose as calm as possible and readies for an attack he's sure is coming.

"Soo, how you've been?" Joker asks and it's too casual for Bruce's liking. He doesn't answer the question or acknowledge it in any way and he knows Joker knew that would happen.

"Right," Joker mutters and nods slowly. "Guess I'll go first. I spent a week living with Eddie and you would not believe how much of a neat freak that guy is. I wanted to shoot myself. Next time I need a place to hide I'm asking Grundy."

It explains where Joker had disappeared after he'd broken into the office a while back, and though the thought of Joker and Nygma under the same roof is kind of amusing Bruce keeps his face blank.

"The whole silent treatment's getting old, you know. I'd get a better response from a corpse," Joker complains and manages to look almost sad.

"Get to the point," Bruce demands and Joker drops the pout. He grins and hops down from the box, and skips around Bruce.

"I've got a gift for you," Joker says with a singsong voice and stops to stand in front of Bruce. "You'll love it." Bruce doubts it.

"But first you'll have to answer a question and please be honest. This is super important." Joker sounds serious for once so Bruce gives him a slight nod. He'll play along until he figures out what Joker's game is.

"Can I trust you?" Joker asks and steps closer to Bruce, taking his cape in his hands and toying with it absently.

"Yes," Bruce answers without hesitation and hopes it doesn't come out too fast. Joker smiles and leans on Bruce's chest with a happy sigh.

Bruce wants to hold him but he can't, so he grinds his teeth and forces himself to stay still while Joker snuggles against him.

"The gift?" Bruce asks and takes a step back even though it's not easy. Joker makes a noise of protest and refuses to let go of the cape.

"Well since you asked so nicely," Joker replies sarcastically. "I'll show you." Joker finally lets go of Bruce and walks past him without bothering to see if Bruce follows him.

Joker leads him to a back door and sneaks out when Gordon's men aren't watching, and runs down a dark alley to put some distance between him and the police. Bruce follows Joker even though there's a good chance he's being led to a trap. He contacts Tim saying the building is clear and tells him to wait for further instructions. He doesn’t wait for Tim’s reply before turning the comm off.

Joker disappears into an old apartment complex a few blocks down and Bruce follows a few steps behind. The building is empty due to being scheduled for demolition in a few weeks and the stench of mold and rot hangs heavy in the air. Joker skips up a flight of stairs, disturbing the dust covering everything, and Bruce goes after him in a slower pace so he won't risk falling through the soft wood.

Joker leads Bruce all the way to the top floor and the first thing Bruce notices is the unmistakable smell of blood. He slows his steps and readies himself for a fight, but Joker simply leans on a wall and points to a nearby door. Bruce keeps an eye on Joker as he walks past him and into the small apartment. The smell of blood is immediately explained by the body lying in the middle of the room.

Bruce gives himself a moment to feel sorry for the woman before taking a closer look at her cut up face. Joker had done a number on her and Bruce can't put a name to her, but he knows this person had a connection to him, that's the only reason Joker would've done this. Bruce is about to scold himself for not recognizing her when he spots the press ID abandoned in the blood. _Mary Dyer._ Bruce grinds his teeth together and does his best not to let anger take over him.

Mary had written an article about the usefulness of vigilantes and heroes and she'd said a few not so kind things about Batman in particular. No wonder Joker had gone ballistic on her.

"You're welcome." Joker's voice comes from the doorway. Bruce doesn't turn around when he hears Joker move closer. He refuses to tense when Joker wraps his arms around him and lean his jaw on his shoulder. Joker places his hands on the bat symbol on Bruce's chest and Bruce hates himself for not minding the touch as much as he should.

"Taught her not to write mean things about my darling," Joker says softly and Bruce shoves him away. He turns to glare at Joker and clenches his fists, wanting nothing more than to hurt him though he's not sure if it's because Joker had murdered someone who'd voiced an opinion he hadn't liked or because he feels betrayed by Joker. It's not like Bruce had forgotten Joker's obsession with Batman, he'd just spent a good amount of time ignoring it and letting himself believe Bruce Wayne could be more appealing to him. He shouldn’t be surprised he was wrong.

"You didn't have to kill her," Bruce says in a dangerously low voice and takes a step towards Joker who has the audacity to look offended at Bruce's words.

"Why can't you just accept the nice things I do for you?" Joker snarls before letting out a sharp laugh and falling back on his trademark grin.

"Maybe I'll find someone else to play with if you're gonna be like this," Joker says, and though his intention is to make Bruce jealous he feels some of the tension leave his body.

Joker pulls out a gun before Bruce can fully process what's happening, but he manages to dodge the shot and get close enough to Joker to punch him in the gut and wrestle him to the ground.

Bruce throws the gun across the room and pins Joker down and raises his hand to hit him, but he hesitates just for a second. It's all the time Joker needs to dig a knife into Bruce's shoulder and carve a deep wound through the armor. Bruce curses as flashing pain shoots through his left arm, and Joker pulls the knife out only to dig it to Bruce's side repeatedly.

Bruce needs to end this fast so he forgoes beating Joker to a pulp and smashes his head to the floor to knock him out instead. Joker slumps on the ground and Bruce pulls the knife out of his side before checking he hadn't cracked Joker's skull. When he's sure Joker will be fine he calls Barbara to tell her to let her father know where to find Joker and Mary's body, and leaves Joker handcuffed to a pipe.

"I got your ring leader if you're interested," Barbara says after contacting Gordon. Bruce is already halfway out of the building and he tells Barbara to send the information to the computers in the cave.

"Already done," Barbara assures him and Bruce thanks her before ending the conversation and stepping outside. He'll need to get his wounds patched as soon as possible, and he calls Tim to let him know he’s heading back home.

“I’ll bring the car there,” Tim promises and Bruce gets up to a fire escape to wait for him out of sight. He knows he won't be going anywhere else that night and let's Alfred know he's hurt and promises to be back at the manor as soon as he can. He hopes Joker stays in Arkham for long enough for Bruce to heal himself.

 

* * *

 

For once Bruce is happy that his smuggling ring wasn’t actually based in Gotham but Star City, as it gave him the chance to delegate the case to Oliver while he rests. It takes a while for Bruce to heal enough to feel comfortable to suit up again, longer than he’d liked, and by the time he’s back in the streets his shoulder is only slightly stiff.

He should've just punched Joker's lights out when he had the chance and not hesitate for a second, and it takes Bruce a day's worth of self reflection to admit he hadn't wanted to hurt Joker even after what he'd done to Mary.

Joker has gotten under his skin and he's there to stay.

Maybe that's the reason Bruce is now watching Arkham Asylum from the shadows, his cape billowing around him in the wind. The cold air hits Bruce's face and helps him think clearly, and with his mind made he makes his way to through the gates. He takes a deep breath and steels himself  before walking inside the Asylum.

Bruce strides through the hallways towards the maximum security wing where Joker is being held. He pays off the guards he needs to so he can get to his destination without anyone alerting the doctors, and when the heavy doors keeping Arkham's worst locked in shut behind Bruce it's with an ominous sense of finality. Bruce always worries he won't be let out this time.

The air is always different in there, heavy and clammy and the madness sweeps from the walls and clings to your skin. Bruce blocks out the never ending screams and waits for the guard to let him through the final door and tells him to wait outside.

"Suit yourself," the guard mutters and lets Bruce enter the only official super max cell in Arkham. They'd built it after Joker had convinced a bunch of inmates to either kill themselves or someone else, and the staff got sick of him starting trouble that often led to bloodshed with just his words.

Joker calls it his own special suite.

The room isn't exactly poorly lit and maybe it's the atmosphere but the shadows seem darker and heavier in here than anywhere else in the Asylum. Bruce takes a deep breath before crossing the six or so feet to the thick Plexiglas separating Joker from the rest of the room. He ignores the bright yellow line half way through the room and the bold _DO NOT CROSS_ written on it and stops inches from the glass.

Joker sits with his back against the furthest fall with a book in his hands and seems oblivious to Bruce's presence. Bruce knows that couldn't be further from the truth.

"So what brings you to my humble little corner of this wonderful sunshine land?" Joker asks without lowering his book. Bruce isn't sure how to answer so he keeps quiet and tries to come up with the best way to put his thoughts to words. Joker turns a page and the sound of paper rustling is loud in the silent space.

"Please don't tell me you came all the way down here to give me the silent treatment." Joker glances at Bruce from behind his book before focusing on it again. Bruce gives himself a moment to just look at Joker before coming to a decision.

"What are you reading?" Bruce asks. Joker gives him a dry laugh and looks up.

"That's what you're gonna start with?" He sounds almost incredulous. Bruce doesn't react and in the end Joker raises the books so Bruce can see the cover.

"Twilight?" Bruce almost smiles. Joker tosses the book away without caring if it gets damaged and gets up.

"I like romance. Bella’s choice between Jacob and Edward touches something in my heart," Joker quips and grins.

He ambles up to the glass and knocks on it. "They think this’ll keep me here." Bruce doubts there’s anything that can stand in Joker’s way if he decides to leave.

Now that he’s closer Bruce can’t help but notice how dry and thin Joker’s skin looks. It’s the air and lack of natural light, and the drugs the staff pumps into their patients don’t help either. Bruce doesn’t like what it does to Joker though, it makes him look like he’s dead.

“So what do you want?” Joker asks and leans on the glass. Bruce studies Joker for a moment before deciding to get to the point.

“You asked if you could trust me,” Bruce starts and watches Joker closely for any reactions. “Why?” Joker huffs and his eyes dart around his cell. Bruce waits for Joker to say something and tries to be patient as the silence stretches between them.

“Curiosity,” Joker answers finally and it’s not what Bruce expected, and he knows it’s a lie. He’s about to say as much when Joker turns his attention back to him with a challenging smirk on his face.

“What do you really want?” Joker asks before Bruce can say anything.

Bruce doesn’t know what he wants. He’d come there with a dozen questions in his mind and now he can’t decide which he wants an answer to.

“Think real careful now darling. What do you wanna know?” Joker presses his hands and face on the glass and stares at Bruce with such intensity it’s hard for Bruce to not look away. Then Bruce gets an idea, and he turns his back on Joker and calls Barbara.

“Turn the cameras off,” he tells her. Barbara is smart enough to know when not to argue with Bruce so she does as she’s told with only minor grumbling and tells Bruce to be careful. Bruce gives Barbara a few seconds and makes sure his breathing is still steady before turning to face the excitedly grinning Joker.

“Aren’t you full of surprises,” he laughs and licks his lips. Bruce’s heart is pounding in his ears but this might be his only chance to ask Joker exactly what he wants to know.

“I heard a rumor you’ve been seeing someone,” Bruce says in a steady voice. Joker’s grin fades away slowly and gets replaced with something much darker. Bruce is suddenly very grateful for the Plexiglas separating them.

“And who might’ve said that?” Joker’s honeyed voice is ruined by the murderous look in his eyes. Bruce doesn’t bother pointing out the rumor mill in Gotham is always coming up with things. Just last night Bruce had heard a thug claim he’d seen Tetch on a date with Cobblepot, but considering Tetch is currently locked up down the hall it would be quite the feat for them to go out.

Joker’s fist hits the glass so fast Bruce almost jumps. He hadn’t expected that. Joker’s face changes from rage to amusement in a blink of an eye and he lets out a shrill laugh.

“You didn’t answer me,” he says too kindly for Bruce’s liking.

“Didn’t get their name,” Bruce replies. Joker studies him for a second before backing off and pacing around his small cell. Bruce watches him closely. He’s playing a dangerous game and he knows it but getting Joker to talk about Bruce Wayne might be the only way for him to find out what he’s trying to achieve with him. And Bruce knows he’s after something, even if it’s just sex, and Bruce wants to get ahead on the game.

“What are you doing?” Bruce asks with his voice carefully neutral. Joker doesn’t turn to look at him and Bruce can’t tell what he’s thinking. “Should I expect another Harley?”

It gets a reaction from Joker. He stops his pacing and stands there facing the back wall. “It’s just a little fun, no need to get your panties all twisted up,” Joker says and turns just enough to look at Bruce with a little too polite expression. Bruce glares at him and waits.

“Oh don’t look at me like that. I like him just like he is. I don’t need another lovesick groupie running after me,” Joker says and walks back up to the glass.

“You like him?” Bruce asks and ignores the hopeful warmth growing in him.

“Yeah. You see, some of us don’t have the emotional maturity of a withered cactus stuck in a desert during the dry season,” Joker mocks and Bruce tries not to be insulted.

“Why? Are you jealous?” Joker’s face morphs into an unctuous grin.

“No,” Bruce answers and Joker drops his grin. Bruce doesn’t bother mentioning that if he were to be jealous of himself it wouldn’t be because of Bruce Wayne.

“Too bad,” Jokers says. “Would’ve been fun.” Bruce doesn’t agree but he keeps his mouth shut.

“What happens when you’ve had your fun?” Bruce asks instead. Joker rolls his eyes and groans.

“I’m not gonna kill him,” he says like Bruce is an idiot for even thinking it’s a possibility. Bruce wants to believe him but years of experience has taught him Joker’s moods are volatile and he can change his mind because the carpet is one shade too light for his tastes and butcher everyone around him.

“I like him,” Joker sighs as he slumps down on the ground and leans his back on the glass. Bruce looks at him, surprised how sincere he sounds even though he has no reason to pretend.

“If you like him so much why did you get yourself locked up again?” Bruce’s voice is soft and he takes a step closer to see the side of Joker’s face a little better.

“I missed you,” Joker replies just as softly and smiles. “Doesn’t matter what I do you always come back to me.” Bruce can’t deny that but it’s not for the reasons Joker thinks. Bruce almost feels sorry for him.

“Bet he’d run the second I shot someone,” Joker mutters to himself before bursting into almost hysterical laughter. “I think they changed my meds.” He turns to grin at Bruce and makes a face before dissolving into another fit of laughter.

Bruce wouldn’t be surprised if the doctors had done just that. They don’t know what to do with Joker so they keep pumping him full of drugs until he’s too out of it to do anything. Bruce decides it’s time for him to go. He doesn’t think he can get anything more out of Joker and he’d rather not prolong this any further. He got his answer.

“Maybe you should let this guy of yours to decide what he’ll put up with,” Bruce suggests and hurries out of the room before Joker can say anything.

Bruce marches out of the Asylum and tells Barbara to turn the cameras back on when he gets outside. He spends a few hours hunting down criminals before his still healing wounds start protesting too much and he has to call it a night if he wants to get back to full health fast.

Alfred is waiting for Bruce and he has that look on his face he always gets when Bruce has anything to do with Joker.

Bruce gets out of his suit and doesn’t bother with showering before going upstairs to the manor and finding the nearest couch to slump on. Alfred brings him a cup of tea and Bruce can taste the brandy in it. He sighs and leans on his knees as he stares at the steaming cup in his hands, unsure of what to do next. Alfred sits on a chair next to Bruce and sips his own tea, and he seems to be waiting for Bruce to talk first.

“Just say what you want to say.” Bruce glances at Alfred and waits for his response. Alfred takes his time to decide how to best word his thoughts before taking a deep breath and sitting up straighter.

“I do have some concerns,” Alfred admits.

“Just you or do Barbara, Tim and Dick share these concerns?” Bruce asks. He’s been waiting for this for weeks but Alfred could’ve waited until Bruce wasn’t so tired.

“They do,” Alfred replies. “You haven’t been yourself for a while now,” he continues and levels a hard stare at Bruce.

Bruce sighs and closes his eyes. “I’m fine,” he says and it sounds like a lie even to his own ears. Bruce knows there’s no way Alfred buys it.

“With all due respect, you’re not a very good liar.” Alfred confirms what Bruce already knew and it makes him smile for a second. He takes a sip of his tea to busy himself and entertains the thought of telling Alfred everything. It might take some time but Bruce knows Alfred would forgive him for Joker, but Bruce knows there’s a good chance Barbara and Dick would want nothing to do with him ever again. Tim might come around with enough time.

“Have you met someone new?” Alfred asks and Bruce shakes his head. He’s not even lying, he’s known Joker for years.

“Did that madman say something?”

“No,” Bruce says too loudly and gives Alfred what he hopes is a reassuring smile. “No he didn’t say anything,” he continues in a much calmer voice but Alfred’s not buying it, and Bruce refuses to avert his eyes while Alfred studies him.

“I know your relationship with him isn’t-”

“We don’t have relationship,” Bruce interrupts harshly. He regrets it immediately but doesn’t know how to apologize, and Alfred is making a point of not looking like he’s been insulted.

“If you say so,” Alfred says finally and gets up.

Bruce sighs and berates himself for his reaction. He’s about to apologize but Alfred is already leaving the room and Bruce doesn’t feel like chasing after him will help anyone. Bruce finishes his tea in record time without caring if the hot liquid burns his mouth and follows after Alfred to take his cup to the kitchen. Bruce isn’t surprised to find Alfred filling the dishwasher, and Bruce hands his empty cup to him.

“Go to bed,” Bruce says and offers Alfred a kind smile. Alfred nods and turns the dishwasher on while Bruce waits for him to be done with it and leave the kitchen. Alfred wishes Bruce good night and it’s normal enough that Bruce can ignore the talk they’d just had.

“Master Bruce?” Alfred stops at the doorway and Bruce straightens up a little to show he’s listening. “We just want you to be happy,” Alfred says softly before walking away. Bruce stands alone in the kitchen for a minute before following his own advice and trudging to his bedroom.

 

* * *

 

Bruce was hoping for a slow few weeks but Joker is out of Arkham in less than five days after Bruce’s visit and he’s praying that didn’t have anything to do with the escape. Bruce keeps his phone close and waits for Joker to contact him, but he doesn’t hear from him in four days, and on the fifth day Bruce is worrying he’d somehow gotten Joker to not want to see him anymore. Maybe he’d said something in Arkham that made Joker reconsider their relationship.

By evening Bruce has had enough of waiting and he hides in his bedroom so he can call Joker in peace. He’ll just check on him and if Joker isn’t interested in talking to him then he’ll just hang up and leave him be. The dial tone seems to ring forever and Bruce is just about to hang up and forget all about it when Joker picks up.

“If this isn’t important I’m gonna find you and kill you. Slowly.” Joker’s voice sounds muffled and a little rough, and Bruce thinks he might have woken him up.

“Um. I heard you’re out,” Bruce says and makes a face at how lame he sounds.

“Brucie! I’m retracting my earlier statement. Be as boring and unimportant as you want,” Joker’s much happier voice comes through and Bruce smiles. “I meant to call you but I forgot,” Joker continues almost apologetically.

“It’s fine. Everything okay?” Bruce asks and listens to the sound of sheets rusting.

“Yeah. I’m just detoxing. Experimental drugs are all fun and shit until you come down from them,” Joker answers and laughs. Bruce frowns and makes a note of checking what drugs the Arkham staff is testing on their patients now.

“You sound terrible,” Bruce says. Joker snorts and groans, and it sounds like he pulls the covers over his head.

“Thanks for pointing out the obvious,” Joker retorts. “I hadn’t noticed.” Bruce smiles and lies down on the bed.

“You’re welcome,” Bruce replies. He listens to the sound of Joker breathing and lets himself relax. He thinks Joker might have fallen asleep when he doesn’t say anything for a long time, but then he hears ruffling and Joker curses quietly.

“Want me to come over?” Bruce asks on a whim.

“You gonna bring me chicken soup and make me all better?” Joker quips and giggles.

“I can manage peach pie,” Bruce says and tries to figure out the best way to sneak a few slices of the freshly made pie out of the manor.

“I’ll take it. Gimme a call when you’re downstairs,” Joker says and hangs up, and Bruce has gotten so used to it he’s not even bothered by the abrupt end to their chat. It’s just the way Joker is.

Bruce tries not to be too excited as he makes his way to the kitchen and makes up a story for Alfred about stopping by at the penthouse before going on patrol. If Alfred doesn’t believe Bruce he’s doing a remarkable job of not showing it, and he’s more than happy to pack a few slices of pie for Bruce to take with him. Bruce thanks him and tells Alfred to text him if he needs anything from the city.

Bruce decides to take his motorcycle and grabs his helmet and a leather jacket and puts on a pair of boots. He starts the bike and tells himself he’s not trying to impress Joker.

Turns out parking a motorcycle in Joker’s neighborhood is a lot easier than parking a car. Bruce makes sure the pie didn’t get damaged during the ride and calls Joker as he’d promised. Joker tells him to come up though he doesn’t sound too happy that he has to get up to open the door.

Bruce takes the steps two at a time and reaches the top floor in record time. Joker is already waiting for him by the door, covered in a blanket and looking horribly sick. He still manages a smile for Bruce when he sees him.

“Missed you,” Joker says as a greeting and takes the pie from Bruce before scuffling out of Bruce’s sight. Bruce closes the door and takes his time with the locks before shrugging his jacket off and going after Joker.

Bruce finds him curled in bed eating the pie still in the Tupperware Alfred had packed it in. Bruce climbs on the bed next to Joker and leans on the headboard, and lets himself relax. He pushes a stray lock of damp hair off of Joker’s face and thinks he should run a bath for him. Joker’s skin is clammy and he’s shivering slightly, but at least he’s eating and that’s always a good sign. Unless he starts throwing up.

“I know, I look like a corpse but I’m fine,” Joker mutters between spoonfuls of pie, like he knows exactly what Bruce is thinking.

“You could use a bath,” Bruce points out as he runs his fingers through Joker’s hair. Joker shrugs and turns to look Bruce with tired eyes.

“So why don’t you go and get one ready for me,” Joker replies and cracks a sardonic smile. Bruce blames his attitude on him being sick and lets it go, and he gets up to draw Joker his bath. He hears Joker snort behind him and he has to fight hard not to give him the finger on his way out of the room. Bruce keeps telling himself Joker is going through withdrawal and his behavior is acceptable to a certain point.

Bruce isn’t surprised to find the bathroom an organized mess. He steps over the Arkham uniform dumped on the floor and picks the rifle from the bathtub before filling it with warm water. Then he takes a closer look at the stuff on the vanity.

There’s makeup and bottles of medicine and gauze scattered all across it and Bruce picks up a bottle and checks the label; Xanax. Bruce is so dumbfounded he almost forgets to turn the water off before the bathroom floods. Bruce never took Joker for someone who’d take anti-anxiety meds. Bruce puts the bottle back on the vanity and makes sure the water is nice and warm before going to get Joker.

Joker has crawled back under the covers and the now empty Tupperware box is laying on the ground. Bruce nudges the lump on the bed and pulls the cover off of Joker despite the protests he gets for it.

“Do you need me to carry you?” Bruce asks, barely keeping the sarcasm in his voice at bay.

“Yup.” Joker’s voice is muffled by the pillow he’s buried his face in. Bruce consider the situation for a second before he shrugs and picks Joker up easily like he’s done a thousand times before. Joker yelps and wraps his arms around Bruce’s shoulders and holds on tight as he giggles softly and buries his face in Bruce’s neck.

Bruce resists the temptation of dropping Joker into the water with his clothes still on and lowers him to the ground, making sure he’s steady on his feet before letting go. He watches Joker strip his clothes off and step into the bath, dipping himself fully into the water to get his hair wet. Joker sighs and closes his eyes while Bruce rolls up his sleeves, sits on the ground and starts shampooing his hair.

“You could just get in,” Joker says without opening his eyes even as he leans on Bruce’s hands with a soft groan. He takes the sponge from the edge of the tub but doesn’t anything more than dip it in the water.

“I already had a shower today,” Bruce mutters as an excuse. Joker hums and lets Bruce tilt his head when he starts to wash the shampoo away. Bruce leans to press a kiss on Joker’s temple and runs his hand along Joker’s jaw to get him to turn his head. Joker opens his eyes and it breaks something deep inside Bruce to see him so exhausted.

“How about I make you a cup of coffee?” Bruce offers and Joker nods. Bruce gets up and leaves Joker with his sponge.

Bruce makes his way to the kitchen and locates the coffee and loads the coffee maker, and leans on the counter while he waits for it to be done. He’s going to have to find out what’s going on in Arkham, and if they’re testing drugs on the patients again he’ll have to put a stop to it.

Joker drags himself into the kitchen when Bruce is filling their cups and wraps his arms around Bruce and buries his face in his back, leaving a damp impression in the fabric.

“It helps me sleep,” he mutters into Bruce’s shirt. Bruce has no idea what he’s talking about and he tenses slightly as he tries to figure out if he missed something.

“You moved the bottle,” Joker clarifies and Bruce realizes he’s talking about the drugs. “It’s fine. Next time just ask if you’re curious,” he says and rubs his face on Bruce’s shoulder. Bruce should’ve remembered how keen Joker’s eyes are.

“Here’s your coffee,” Bruce says and turns around to give Joker his cup. Joker takes it without a word but his eyes are harsh as he studies Bruce over the rim of his coffee cup. Bruce sighs and puts his cup on the counter before focusing his attention on Joker, making sure his face is serious.

“I don’t see how it’s any of my business if you want to get high. Or whatever. You’re an adult, you know what you’re doing,” Bruce says calmly. Bruce has always known Joker likes his drugs, Arkham and GCPD test everyone going through their system and Bruce has seen the results. He’s just never come face to face with the fact and  he’s not going to admit he worries about it sometimes.

“It bothers you.” Bruce shakes his head but Joker raises his hand to keep him quiet. “No, no. I know you. That’s the face you make when something bothers you,” Joker continues. Bruce has to glance away and Joker sighs.

“They already feed that stuff to me in Arkham. I’m actually taking less meds here than in there. It’s fine. Doctor’s orders and all that jazz,” Joker says and waves it off. Bruce would have to check Arkham’s records to be sure Joker’s not lying and take a look of the other meds Joker has to see if they match the records.

Joker’s still looking at Bruce and waiting for him to say something. Bruce leans on the counter breathes deeply, and gulps down his coffee to busy himself for a second.

“If you say so,” Bruce says eventually and focuses on his cup to avoid looking at Joker. The silence stretches between them until Bruce chuckles quietly.

“What?” Joker demands and steps closer to Bruce who looks up with a smile on his face.

“I just never saw you as someone who’d take anti-anxiety meds,” Bruce admits and tries not to laugh. Joker narrows his eyes and glares at Bruce before cracking a smile.

“Side effects include heightened risk-taking behavior, agitation and hostility,” Joker says brightly and grins. Bruce shakes his head. Joker steps up against him and puts his cup on the counter before wrapping his arm around Bruce’s shoulders.

“Come to bed. We can cuddle and talk about our hopes and dreams.” Joker kisses the corner of Bruce’s mouth and watches him closely for any signs of hesitation. Bruce pretends to mull it over before nodding slowly and placing his unfinished coffee on the counter next to Joker’s.

“Sure,” Bruce says and lets Joker guide him to the bed.

Bruce should’ve changed the sheets when he had the chance but it’s too late for that now. He pulls Joker into his arms and holds him tight as Joker babbles on about some cartoon he’d watched a few days ago. Eventually Joker trails off and falls silent, and when Bruce looks down he finds him fast asleep.

Bruce has never actually seen Joker asleep before.

He’s seen him beaten up and hurt and unconscious in a hospital bed but never asleep. Joker looks younger and more vulnerable than he has every right to and Bruce wants to keep him safe.

Bruce would laugh at his absurd surge of protectiveness if he wasn’t so worried about waking Joker up. He pulls his phone from his pocket and sends Barbara a quick text asking her to hack Arkham’s records and see if there’s anything going on. He ignores the buzz when Barbara replies him and closes his eyes, breathing in the soft scent of soap still clinging to Joker’s skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering how long it took me to write this I thought I wouldn't like this bit but mostly I'm just meh, it's fine. I had fun with this.  
> (and yes, you can escape handcuffs if you have some kind of lubricant but I'm never going to recommend it as it hurts A LOT and you might damage your hands)
> 
> Let me know what you think :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this chapter taught me anything it's that midnight editing is something that has to stop. Time to bring on the midnight writing instead. Also I dunno why but this chapter was a pain in my butt. It's probably because real life's been reminding me of its existence again. I dunno.

Alfred is driving Bruce to a party he’s not interested in attending, but he’s promised Alfred he’ll keep up a social front so there’s really nothing he can do about it. Bruce would much rather be reading through the mess that is Arkham’s medical records, but when he’d tried to use that argument Alfred had told him Barbara and Tim were already working on it.

To make things worse Joker has tried to call Bruce four times and has left a couple of colorfully worded demands for Bruce to pick up the phone. Bruce would love to call him back and ask if he’s feeling better already but Alfred’s presence makes that impossible. So Bruce settles for sending Joker a text saying he’s going to a friend’s birthday party, though the only connection he has to the woman is that they went to the same school and they’re both rich.

_Sounds boring. Come over_

Bruce sighs and keeps his phone out of sight as he types an answer.

_After the party._

Bruce hopes that’s all it takes to keep Joker happy. His phone stays silent for a few minutes so Bruce figures Joker will leave him alone for now. He’s just about to settle into his seat when his phone buzzes again.

_Now_

Bruce grinds his teeth and counts to ten to keep the annoyance at bay. He’s not a fan of Joker’s bossy moods, and he considers ignoring Joker’s next message but in the end he decides that would be worse. His phone buzzes again before he can start typing.

_I could be dying_

Bruce almost snorts. He glances up to make sure Alfred hasn’t noticed he’s on his phone before leaning back as casually as he can and typing a reply.

_Call 911._

They’re almost at their destination and Bruce doesn’t have time for this anymore. He just needs a few hours, that shouldn’t be impossible even for Joker.

_I miss your dick_

Bruce masks his laugh as coughing and tries not to blush when Alfred glances at him through the mirror.

_I’ll be there in few hours. I’m turning my phone off._

Bruce doesn’t wait for a reply before shutting his phone and pointedly focusing on the seat in front of him.

It doesn’t take long for Alfred to park the car and wish Bruce a fun night out, and remind him that he would be picked up in four hours. It’s Alfred’s way of making sure Bruce doesn’t run away like he’d jokingly threatened to do.

Bruce forces a smile for Alfred’s sake and goes inside the large building that Tim calls a luxury house and the owners insist is a modern styled manor. Bruce isn’t taking any sides on that argument.

The place is filled with people and it takes Bruce a minute to find Olivia and wish her happy birthday, and she squeaks and pulls Bruce into a tight hug, telling him how glad she is he’s there. Bruce likes Olivia, she’s fun and easy to get along with, and he almost wishes he’d spend more time with her.

“They have wine at the bar,” Olivia whispers into his ear and Bruce thanks her with a grateful smile on his lips. He gets himself a glass of over prized red wine and mingles among the guests like he’s expected to do. It’s not the worst thing he’s ever done and Bruce actually enjoys himself for a change.

Bruce doesn’t remember he turned his phone off until he sees a couple get into a fight and it dawns on him Joker might not be too happy with him. He finds himself a quiet corner and turns on his phone, intending to call Joker to apologize and make sure he’s not too mad.

Bruce scoffs when he sees the amount of messages Joker has sent him. His amusement dies when he get’s past the expected _don’t you dare to turn your phone off_ and _I’m going to kill you you know?_ and gets to the _would you please just fucking answer?_ sent to half an hour later than the death threats and raging. He’s not sure why but he’s got a bad feeling. Bruce scrolls through the messages until he gets to the last one and freezes.

_Pingu's gonna get your birthday girl. Get out of there_

Bruce looks at the guests and tries to come up with a way to get everyone out and Olivia to safety. He gets as far as taking a step towards the crowd when all hell breaks loose.

There’s gunfire and people screaming and running around and it makes finding the source of the shots hard to pinpoint. And they’re firing into the crowd.

Bruce moves fast and finds Olivia hiding under a table. She’s terrified out of her mind and crying, and it takes a little work to get her out of there. Bruce tells her she can’t stay put, she needs to get out of the house, and finally he gets through to her. He just hopes that getting Olivia out will draw Cobblepot’s men after them and the rest of the guests will be safe.

They get outside and Bruce hears one of the thugs yell for the others to go after them. Bruce tells Olivia to get her heels off and stays between her and the gunmen and her when she stops to undo the straps. Bruce tries to estimate how fast they need to run to get to the main road before they’re caught. A bullet flies so close to Bruce’s head he’s sure he feels the breeze from it.

They won’t make it.

“Just do what they want,” Olivia pleads and pulls Bruce to the ground with her seconds before they’re surrounded. Bruce is ready to fight but Olivia is clutching to him with all her might and he’s not in his batsuit so fighting isn’t even the smartest option. He should’ve never turned his phone off.

“How about we let go of the boyfriend and come along nicely?” One of the men surrounding them says and Bruce marks him down as the leader. Olivia whimpers but to Bruce’s surprise she steels herself and gets up. Bruce scrambles after her and pulls her back to his side.

“She’s not going anywhere without me,” he states and Olivia gives him a stunned if grateful glance. The men around them laugh and exchange looks, obviously having no idea why Bruce is arguing with them.

“Yeah she is. Now back off,” the leader says and points his gun at Bruce’s face. Bruce smiles and raises his hands in surrender.

“If you want to kidnap someone I’m worth a lot more than she is,” Bruce argues. It seems to catch the attention of the thugs. “I bet your boss would like a bigger pay,” he continues and it seems to sell his point.

“Make one wrong move and I’ll shoot you in your pretty face,” the leader says.

They handcuff Bruce and Olivia and take them to a van where they’re blindfolded and their pockets are emptied. Bruce doesn’t see the point of the blindfold though, the van doesn’t have windows and they’re shoved to the very back so it’s not like they could see where they’re going anyways.

Bruce memorizes the route and listens to the call the leader of the gang makes. Bruce guesses he’s calling Cobblepot, and if the amount of apologizing he’s doing is any indication Cobblepot is not happy with him. Bruce on the other hand is more than happy to complicate his plans.

The van comes to a stop and the doors open.

Bruce had been right when he’d thought they’d come to the docks, and the stench of from new batch of fish that had arrived that day still hangs in the air. Bruce and Olivia are dragged out of the van and across the wet pavement into a warehouse, and Bruce absently thinks the cold hard ground must hurt Olivia’s feet.

Once inside Bruce gets handcuffed to a chair and his blindfold is removed, and as soon as the harsh halogen light from the lamps stops hurting his eyes he looks for Olivia. He finds her sitting on a chair next to him and glaring at their kidnappers with anger Bruce wouldn’t want to have directed at him.

“Do you know why they wanted you?” Bruce asks quietly. Olivia glances at him and sighs.

“My dad was dealing with Penguin and he owes him some money,” Olivia admits in a hushed voice. Bruce bites his lip and tries not to curse. He’d hoped this wasn’t personal.

“Is that why your father wasn’t at the party?” Bruce asks to keep her distracted and Olivia nods slowly. Bruce would ask more but the leader of their kidnappers marches up to them and crosses his arms when he comes to a halt in front of Olivia.

“Okay missy, you’re going on a little trip to see the boss,” he says, sounding far too smug for Bruce’s liking. Bruce wants to argue but Olivia catches his attention and shakes her head minutely.

“I’ll be fine,” she whispers and lets the man walk her back out. Bruce focuses on working the pin hidden in the seam of his sleeve out and does his best to appear calm but a little frightened.

“And you just be quiet and we’ll be fine.” Bruce recognizes the nasal voice and once the man pulls his mask off he sees he was right, it’s Davis. Bruce nods and keeps his head low and makes himself look as small as he can.

Alfred and Tim have probably already called Dick to help them find Bruce and Olivia, and Bruce decides it’s best to play it safe and doesn’t pull the pin out of his sleeve. He’ll get it in a second if he’ll need it.

The other men remove their masks too and Bruce thinks they’re either idiots or they have no intention of letting Bruce walk. Rather than worry about it too much Bruce focuses his attention to the men playing Go Fish, and to Bruce’s relief ignoring him completely.

He identifies the hulking man in the corner as Jones and wonders if he’s officially left Scarface’s crew or if he’s just freelancing while Wesker is in Arkham. Bruce will have to look into that when he’s not being held hostage. Bruce almost laughs when he realizes it’s been over a year since he was last kidnapped.

Bruce recognizes the youngest of the group as Billy, a street kid trying to make a name for himself. He’d been in trouble with the law before, but never nothing too serious and Gordon had once joked they should arrest him solely on the count of his obnoxiously blue hair. Bruce hates seeing him there.

Then there’s Rocco and his bad temper, and Bruce worries he’ll end up causing a fight. Hopefully he won’t be betting one his many pieces of jewelry for money, he can’t play poker to save his life and Bruce doubts he’s much better at Go Fish. Rocco also seems to be friends with the third man Bruce can’t identify.

It’s been almost an hour if Bruce is right before Davis’ phone rings. Bruce listens closely to the conversation but doesn’t get anything out of it, and soon Davis hangs up and says something to the others so quietly Bruce can’t hear it before getting up and walking up to Bruce.

“So how much is your life worth to you?” Davis asks and grins. Bruce fixes an appropriately scared look on his face and shrugs.

“How much do you want?” Bruce asks even though he has absolutely no intention of giving Davis a cent. Davis laughs and looks back to his friends, who are now entirely focused on the scene unfolding in front of them. Davis puts his hands on Bruce’s shoulders and leans in so they’re almost at the same level. Bruce barely keeps himself from headbutting him and takes the pin from his sleeve.

“That is a very good question,” Davis says. “How about-”

A shot rings through the air and a warm spray of blood hits Bruce’s face and chest. Davis hits the ground with a thud and for a moment everyone is too shocked to move.

“Don’t touch my stuff.” Bruce’s eyes dart up when he hears Joker’s voice and he’s almost relieved to see him even though now he’ll have to think twice before picking his handcuffs. Joker looks pissed and Bruce can only hope Penguin’s men don’t anger him any further.

Nobody dares to move as Joker saunters to the makeshift table and picks up Davis’ cards, and makes a face and tuts disappointedly before throwing the cards over his shoulder. He focuses his attention on Penguin’s men and drums his nails on the table  in a maddening rhythm as he studies them with cold eyes.

“What do you want?” Jones asks, his voice carefully neutral. Joker hums thoughtfully and tilts his head.

“A pony,” he answers, sounding completely serious. Bruce can’t blame for Jones and his crew for being confused.

“Okay?” Billy mutters. Joker doesn’t react to him, and Bruce knows that tactic well enough to hate it.

“If that’s too much I’ll accept a cappuccino and a chocolate chip muffin,” Joker continues and looks at the men expectantly. Bruce almost snorts at the ridiculousness of it all.

“How about we send you to the morgue instead?” Rocco replies as he pulls his gun out and lays it on the table. Joker lets out a shrill laugh and grins at Rocco who’s trusting he’s got the advantage on his side since he’s got a gun and his crew with him.

“You’re funny,” Joker chuckles. Bruce holds his breath and waits as everything stops for a moment.

Then Rocco goes to grab his gun.

Joker’s faster and he grabs the gun and shoots Rocco’s friend before taking a hold of Rocco’s hair and smashes his face to the table repeatedly until the thin wood plate gives away and breaks.

Rocco doesn’t get up even though he’s still trying to breathe through the blood and broken bones.

Joker’s on his feet and wrapping a garrote around Jones’ neck before anyone has time to react, and he gets behind Jones and pulls the wire tight with his weight, using his smaller size to stay out of Jones’ reach.

Then Billy tries to shoot him but ends up hitting Jones instead. Jones falls to the ground and Billy drops his gun, and though he’s shocked at the sight before him he has the sense to raise his hands and take a step back from Joker.

“No hard feelings?” Billy’s voice shakes and he whimpers when Joker pulls his favorite Colt on him.

“Do you feel lucky?” Joker asks in a mock imitation of Dirty Harry and laughs at Billy’s terror.

“Come on man,” Billy pleads. “Just, don’t kill me,” he tries and he looks like he’s close to crying. Joker grins wider and pulls the trigger.

Nothing happens.

Joker looks confused while Billy sighs with relief. Joker tilts his head and frowns at the Colt before laughing and shaking his head.

“Silly me. I forgot to load it,” he laughs. Billy offers him a shaky smile and drops his hands, and Bruce hopes he was just trying to scare the kid. He starts picking the locks on his handcuffs and bites his tongue when he learns it’s a double locking mechanism. He doesn’t let it slow him down.

“You know how it is,” Joker starts and starts rummaging through his pockets.

“You try to get the guy you’re trying to have a relationship with to pick up their phone and he think it’s a brilliant idea to turn the thing off. When you’re trying to get him away from the place you dumbos were gonna shoot up.” Joker sighs and shakes his head, and he’d look upset if it wasn’t for the comically wide grin. Bruce forgets about the handcuffs for a second and focuses on Joker’s words, curious to hear what he’ll say next.

“The best part is that the same guy told you to let them know if he’s gonna be in a shoot out. And then the fucking sugarpie has the audacity to turn his phone off,” Joker laughs and starts loading the Colt. Bruce hurries to get his hands free before Joker does something stupid.

“You guys ruined my evening,” Joker sighs and smiles at Billy before raising his Colt and shooting Billy in his face.

Bruce jumps and bites his tongue to keep himself from cursing Joker out loud. Billy falls on the floor and Joker looks at him like he’s a mildly interesting shape on a carpet as holsters his Colt and leisurely turns to look around the room.

Bruce unlocks the first cuff without a sound.

Joker tilts his head and makes a small interested noise, and Bruce follows his line of sight to where Rocco had been. Rocco’s dragging himself across the floor towards the back door and Bruce is a little surprised he’s still capable of moving at all. Joker clicks his tongue and glances around before sauntering to pick up Jones’ abandoned baseball bat.

Bruce tries to get up but his other hand is still cuffed to the chair and it keeps him seated. He turns to look at what he’s doing and starts prying the cuff open, ignoring the pain he’s causing on his wrist.

Joker sings softly under his breath as he skips to Rocco and starts bashing his face in.

Bruce doesn’t bother getting up even when he gets both of his hands free. He closes his eyes and hangs his head, trying not to listen to the sound of the bat hitting against Rocco’s skull. He should’ve picked the locks faster. He should’ve said something to make Joker stop. Bruce takes a deep breath and bottles his emotions before pushing himself up.

Joker’s still beating Rocco’s limp body even though there’s nothing left of his head to hit. Bruce watches the scene in front of him, and not for the first time in his life he feels sorry for Joker as much as his victims. He doesn’t know how Joker got to be so filled with rage but he can understand it on some level.

Bruce walks up to Joker slowly and grabs a hold of his arms to stop him. Joker growls and tries to take a swing at Bruce too, but stops short of smashing the bloodied bat on Bruce’s face. Joker stares at Bruce with wide eyes and he’s shaking, though Bruce can’t tell if it’s because of an emotion or because he’s just violently bludgeoned someone to death. He’s covered in blood and Bruce wishes he’d have something to wipe his face clean with.

“I think he’s dead,” Bruce says softly and eases his hold on Joker’s arms. Joker glances down at the bloody mess that was Rocco and nods slowly.

“I can see that,” he retorts and shoves Bruce away.

Bruce stumbles back and stares at Joker in stunned silence. He doesn’t get why Joker’s getting hostile towards him, and he doesn’t have time to figure it out before he’s looking down at the barrel of Joker’s Colt. He raises his hands slightly and tries to keep his demeanor calm and unthreatening as he takes a step back.

“Could you put that down?” Bruce asks calmly and stays still when Joker steps towards him.

“Why should I?” Joker counters.

“Because why would you want to kill me?” Bruce can’t stop himself from sounding a little upset.

Joker raises his eyebrows. “You turned your phone off,” he replies like it’s obvious, and Bruce drops his hands and rolls his eyes, even if it’s a stupid thing to do when you have Joker pointing a gun in your face.

“You’re going to shoot me over that?” Bruce stares at Joker incredulously. “Fine. Go ahead and kill me.”

Joker looks stunned for a second and he absently lowers his weapon before getting a hold of himself and aiming the gun and firing. The bullet flies by Bruce’s face and he lets out a relieved breath and he lets his shoulders slump as relief washes over him.

“Just go away,” Joker says as he turns away from Bruce and holsters his gun. The last time he looked like that was after he’d shot Barbara and Bruce had tried to talk to him. Jim had called him stupid for trying to get Joker to see reason but Bruce knows better. He’d gotten through to Joker, it was just that Joker hadn’t wanted Batman’s help.

Maybe Bruce Wayne will have better luck.

“Why?” Bruce asks and shoves his hands in his pockets, and tries to look smaller than he is. The less threatening he seems the better.

“Why’d you wanna stay?” Joker counters and looks over his shoulder to Bruce. “Would’ve thought you’d run away the second you got a chance,” he continues and gives Bruce a mirthless smile as he spreads his arms briefly. Bruce looks around and the room and sees the blood and the bodies, and maybe a normal person would run, but Bruce isn’t exactly normal.

“My parents were shot in front of me. I can handle a couple of bodies,” Bruce says matter of factly. “And it’s not like I didn’t know you kill people. " Joker turns enough to look at Bruce with barely concealed curiosity.

“I almost shot you,” Joker points out and Bruce shrugs dismissively. Joker narrows his eyes and starts walking towards Bruce.

“So what now? We’ll torch this place and ride off into the sunset and you’re gonna fix me with the power of love?” Joker mocks and stares at Bruce with an overly enthusiastic grin on his face. Bruce almost smiles and grabs at the opening Joker has just given him.

“I don’t love you,” he says and Joker stops moving, and his whole demeanor becomes more guarded. Bruce takes a deep breath and lets himself say what he thinks for a change.

“You won’t let me.” Bruce waits until he’s sure Joker is hearing what he’s saying before he continues. “Every time you say something I have to try to figure out if you’re serious or lying or playing me. Or you make everything into a joke.” Bruce sighs and glances around the space to buy himself some time.

“I wish you’d trust me,” he finishes softly.

“So you want an honesty hour?” Joker asks and clasps his hands together in excitement.

“You’re doing it again,” Bruce points out and tries his best not to get frustrated, it won’t get him anywhere. Joker lets his smile fall and drops his hands to his sides. He sighs and lets Bruce see a glimpse of worry in his eyes.

“You wouldn’t stay,” Joker says softly and it scares Bruce to hear him sound that frail.

“You don’t know that,” Bruce replies and steps closer to Joker who lets out a hollow laugh and shakes his head.

“I think I should get to decide what I’ll put up with,” Bruce continues.

“You sound like Bats,” Joker mutters under his breath and Bruce almost misses it. He’s not sure if he should smile or back off so he stays where he is and waits for Joker to do something.

Eventually Joker looks up to Bruce.

“Harley didn’t stay,” Joker says and even though he tries to hide it there’s a vulnerability to him Bruce has never seen before. Bruce takes Joker’s hand into his own and smiles.

“I’m not Harley,” he points out and to his relief Joker squeezes his fingers softly.

“I can see that,” Joker quips. Bruce smiles briefly before turning serious.

“If I ask you something could you give me an honest answer?” Bruce asks. “No games or half truths or anything like that,” he continues before Joker says anything. Joker regards Bruce for a second before nodding slowly, and he lets his expression become more open for a change.

“Why did you save me?” Bruce asks before he can talk himself out of it. Joker makes a face and tries to pull away but Bruce won’t let him. He needs to know what Joker was thinking when he came there.

“I can’t do anything nice without being criticized,” Joker complains. Bruce’s mind flashes to Mary’s dead body.

“I’m not criticizing you,” he says hurriedly. “And thanks for saving me,” he continues and the surprise on Joker’s face is worth it. Bruce gives Joker a moment to decide if he’s willing to tell the truth, and in the end Joker takes a deep breath and shrugs.

“I might’ve been slightly worried about you,” he admits. “You could’ve died and I would’ve been sad for, I dunno, two hours.” Bruce stares at Joker, and after a few seconds Joker starts to fidget. He opens his mouth to say something and Bruce knows he’s going to ruin everything so he shuts Joker up by pulling him into a fierce kiss.

Joker clings to Bruce and pulls him impossibly close, like he needs to feel Bruce is still there, and Bruce lets him take control of the kiss.

“I’m fine,” Bruce whispers when he pulls away just enough to breath, and even though Joker nods he doesn’t open his eyes.

The moment is broken when Joker’s phone beeps and he scrunches his face in annoyance before pulling it out and checking the message he just got.

“Well shit,” he mutters and Bruce nudges him gently to get Joker to tell him what the problem is. Joker glances up to Bruce before scanning the room and groaning.

“They found your girl,” Joker says and pulls away from Bruce. He rushes to the back door without a second glance to Bruce, and after a moment he returns with two large canisters of what Bruce assumes is gasoline.

Olivia would’ve told Gordon where they were first taken, and they will be coming for Bruce. Joker empties the first canister on the bodies and throws any excess things that might incriminate him to the pile.

“Do you need help?” Bruce asks on a whim when Joker starts dragging Rocco across the floor. Joker stops in his tracks and stares at Bruce with a blank expression.

“Get the gasoline and pour it on the blood,” Joker replies and Bruce does as he’s told. He never imagined he’d be destroying evidence to help Joker get away with murder but now that it’s happening he’s actually enjoying the exhilaration he gets from it. Bruce stops by Joker and watches him dig through his pockets for a lighter. He finds one soon enough and frowns.

“I’m gonna need you to give me like, a hundred bucks,” Joker says and motions Bruce to back off a little.

“You’re gonna light a fire with my money?” Bruce asks incredulously. Joker turns to look at him like he’s an idiot.

“No you stupid. It’s my last lighter and I need new ones,” he replies and punches Bruce’s arm. “Now I’m not gonna get my daily cancer dose,” Joker mutters and Bruce grabs the lighter from Joker before he can drop it into the gasoline. Joker makes a noise of protest but Bruce ignores him in favor of looking around for something to use to light the fire. He finds a slip of paper not covered in blood and he sets the corner of it on fire without looking what’s on it, and throws it into the gasoline.

Joker laughs and grabs Bruce’s hand and pulls him outside as the fire starts.

“One thing though,” Joker says when they get out into the fish smelling air. “How’d you get out of the handcuffs?” Bruce freezes.

“I’m rich and I live in Gotham. I figured I should know how to get out of handcuffs,” Bruce replies hastily and hopes Joker buys it. Joker seems a little skeptical but in the end he shrugs and starts walking.

“Where are you going?” Bruce calls after Joker and hurries to catch up with him.

“Home. You’re gonna go to the cops. Tell them something about another gang coming here and shooting up the place or something, say you’re traumatized and need to rest. Pingu’s got a lot of enemies so it’ll be fine,” Joker says and stops in his tracks. Bruce almost runs into him.

“You could go to the penthouse,” Bruce suggests. “I assume you can get in without a key,” he continues when Joker raises an eyebrow at him. Joker’s expression is unreadable as he studies Bruce, and Bruce does his best to keep still under his gaze.

“Sure,” Joker says and starts walking again and waves Bruce goodbye.

“There’s a payphone two blocks down. Go get a ride. Left then right, down the road,” Joker calls over his shoulder and Bruce thanks him and follows Joker’s directions to get out of the maze of warehouses. He makes sure his voice sounds distressed when he calls GCPD.

 

* * *

 

 

Selling his story to Gordon is a lot easier than convincing his family on it. Alfred can see Bruce isn’t going to talk to them so he lets Bruce be, but Dick pushes it until Bruce snaps and tells him to mind his own business. They almost end up fighting until Tim comes between them and orders them to cut it out.

The argument has the upside of giving Bruce the perfect excuse of staying in the penthouse. Alfred insists on driving, and he keeps giving Bruce concerned glances the whole way.

“I’m fine,” Bruce assures him and tries to smile. “I’ll talk to Dick tomorrow when we’ll both be calmer,” he offers when Alfred doesn’t seem to believe him. Alfred hums in skeptical agreement and parks the car.

“Let me know if you’ll need anything,” Alfred says when Bruce opens the door. Bruce nods and says his goodbyes, and waits until the car is out of his sight before hurrying inside.

The elevator takes forever to get to the penthouse and Bruce entertains himself with the idea of prying the control panel open and seeing if he can speed it up. After small eternity the doors open and let Bruce into his home, and the lights are the only indication Joker is already there.

Bruce goes through the rooms in a hurry until he finds Joker in his bathtub with a glass of wine and too many bubbles.

“I’m moving in,” Joker declares and grins brightly.

Bruce rolls his eyes as he shrugs his jacket off before sitting on the edge of the tub, mindful of the open wine bottle near his leg. He wipes a clump of bubbles from Joker’s hair and smiles softly at the sight of him.

“You’re all bloody,” Joker says and points at Bruce’s face with his glass. “It’s actually not a bad look on you,” he continues with a more appreciative tone. Bruce rubs his cheek and feels the dried blood peel off his skin. He’d forgotten all about it during his time in the GCPD.

Joker puts his wine glass on the ground and his expression morphs into something more mischievous, and before Bruce has the chance to process what’s happening Joker wraps his arms around his waist and yanks him into the water. Bruce sputters and pushes his soaked hair off his face, and Joker laughs into his ear, happy and and a little drunk. The floor floods with water and bubbles and Bruce’s suit is probably ruined but he can’t find it in him to care.

Bruce leans against Joker and laughs harder than he has in weeks.

Joker gets the bottle and offers it to Bruce, and wraps his arms around his shoulders a little possessively as soon as he accepts the bottle. Bruce gulps down the wine, and the warm water and the feel of Joker against him helps him relax.

“Hey. Don’t drink it all,” Joker laughs, taking the bottle from Bruce and filling his glass before Bruce pries the bottle back from him.

Bruce marvels at the amount of bubbles Joker has created and drinks the wine more slowly. Soon the alcohol lowers his judgement enough for him to strip his soaked clothes off, and he kisses Joker as he settles back down into the water with him.

Joker hurries to throw his arms around Bruce and spills wine into the water and they laugh into each others mouths. It’s ridiculous and not something Bruce would do, but he’s sucking on Joker’s lip and there’s wine in the water and Joker’s hands are in his hair, and it’s the most perfect thing Bruce has ever experienced.

Bruce is the first to pull away. They’re panting and Joker’s eyes are blown wide with lust, and Bruce is sure his face mirrors that look. He pulls them out of the water despite Joker’s weak protests and dries them up hastily while he kisses Joker and chews a mark on his shoulder to keep him distracted.

They’re nowhere near dry when Bruce guides Joker to bed and pushes him down on it and climbs to lie on top of him. They both groan when their cocks touch and Bruce grinds down to get Joker to make that keening noise he loves.

“Would you hurry up?” Joker demands and digs his nails into Bruce’s sides. Bruce hisses and nods, and crawls up the bed to gets the lube from the drawer. Joker takes the opportunity to press lazy, open mouthed kisses to Bruce’s abdomen.

Bruce forgets what he was doing for a second and just enjoys Joker’s touch on his skin, light and teasing and leaving burning trails along his sides and back, all the way to the small of his back but never where Bruce wants it.

Bruce growls and pushes Joker to lie on his back before kissing his way down his  body. Joker’s tangles his fingers in Bruce’s hair, trying to get his mouth where he wants it. Bruce laughs softly against Joker’s thigh and grins as he looks up.

“Slow down,” Bruce says and hisses when Joker digs his knees into his ribs.

“No,” Joker shoots back.

Bruce ignores him in favor of sucking a mark Joker’s hip as he slicks his fingers and starts working Joker open. Joker moans and  yanks on Bruce’s hair until Bruce relents and Joker’s cock in his mouth, groaning softly when Joker’s breath hitches.

Bruce pushes a second finger in and starts scissoring them while he sucks Joker off, keeping his pace slow enough to drive Joker crazy.

Bruce loves the desperate whine Joker lets out, it’s a special kind of high to get that sound out of him and Bruce can’t get enough of it. Bruce could keep teasing Joker for hours, but Joker yanks on his hair until Bruce has to pull up and drags him into a kiss as he wraps his legs around Bruce’s hips.

“Stop teasing,” Joker mutters before biting on Bruce’s lip hard. Bruce complies and pours lube on his cock and pushing into Joker slowly, pressing Joker’s hips to the mattress when he tries to get Bruce to move faster. Joker growls and tries to grab Bruce’s shoulders, but Bruce takes a hold of his wrists and pins them above his head, getting an indignant glare for his troubles.

Joker opens his mouth and Bruce cuts any complaints he might make off with a kiss. He holds Joker’s wrists tightly while he struggles and pins him to the bed with his weight.

“Come on,” Joker grumbles and Bruce kisses him again to shut him up.

Bruce keeps thrusting into Joker without any hurry and smiles into the lazy kiss when Joker growls in frustration. He keeps trying to pull his hands free and get Bruce to move faster, but Bruce isn’t in the mood to do what Joker wants.

Joker sinks his teeth into Bruce’s lip and Bruce pulls back fast while Joker grins like he just won. Bruce smiles as he pulls out of Joker almost completely and pretends just for a second he’s going to give Joker just exactly he wants before thrusting in, short and shallow so Joker gets nothing out of it.

Joker growls and digs his knee into Bruce’s side.

“You sadistic-” Bruce slams into Joker and he falls quiet for a second before letting out a strangled moan. Bruce smirks and angles his hips so that he’s hitting Joker’s prostate with every thrust. And he’s still keeping the pace as slow as he can, just to annoy Joker a bit more.

Joker curses and struggles against Bruce’s hold even as his voice begins to hitch and he starts to tremble with every thrust. Bruce watches him for as long as he can before the mix of anger and pleasure in Joker’s eyes becomes too much, and he drops his head and bites down on Joker’s neck instead.

Joker stills and Bruce fears he’s crossed a line, but then Joker breathes out and goes pliant under him.

It takes every bit of his self control but Bruce keeps himself from pounding into Joker. He pulls himself up just enough to look at Joker, and the sight of him with his eyes unfocused and his lips curling into a smile every time Bruce thrusts into him brings something dark and possessive out in Bruce.

He wants Joker to never forget how he feels at that exact moment.

Bruce drives his cock a little harder into Joker just to see how his face changes. Joker’s breath hitches at the sudden change and he focuses his eyes on Bruce for a moment, staring at him like he’s something special, until his eyes fall shut and he throws his head back, baring his neck without thinking about it.

Bruce has never seen anything so beautiful in his life.

“Bruce,” Joker whispers and it sounds like a prayer.

Bruce caves and thrust harder and a little faster, reveling in the way Joker turns into a mess of desperate noises and trembling. He bites back a groan as he crosses Joker’s wrists and holds them tight with one hand and reaches down to jerk him off with another, his focus solely on Joker’s pleasure.

He presses kisses to Joker’s skin and lips and drinks up every noise Joker makes. Bruce waits until he hears that particular hitch in Joker’s breath he makes when he’s getting close to an orgasm before leaning to nip at his earlobe.

“Come on,” Bruce growls and twists his wrist and smiles at the way Joker chokes. Bruce drives his cock into Joker hard, and Joker comes with a scream.

Bruce stills and stares as Joker catches his breath and slumps onto the bed, completely spent for once. Bruce grabs a hold of his jaw and kisses him hard before sticking his fingers into Joker’s mouth so he can taste his own cum. There’s something almost knowing in the hint of a smile on Joker’s lips as he suck on Bruce’s fingers and Bruce pretends he doesn’t see it.

“Don’t move,” Bruce orders quietly and lets go of Joker’s wrists, keeping his eyes locked firmly on Joker’s, and takes hold of his hips. Joker stares up at Bruce with an unreadable look in his eyes, but he doesn’t move even when Bruce pulls himself up.

Bruce has to stop for a second to just look at Joker spread out in front of him, and he’s sure his heart skips a beat at the sight of him so vulnerable and open.

“You’re gorgeous like this,” Bruce says without thinking and rubs his thumbs along Joker’s hip gently before tightening his hold and driving his cock into Joker, chasing his own release. He doesn’t last long with Joker being so submissive, and he bites back a shout as his orgasm hits him. He barely manages to keep himself from falling on top of Joker.

Bruce waits until his breathing calms down before pulling out of Joker with a hiss and kissing him in apology. Bruce drags himself up and makes his way to the bathroom on shaky feet, and cleans himself up. Since Joker doesn’t follow him Bruce wets a towel and flushes Joker’s wine glass so he can fill it with water, and takes them to Joker who has moved just enough to hide his face in his hands.

Bruce frowns as he puts the glass on the nightstand and sits on the edge of the bed and cleans Joker up. He throws the towel onto the floor after he’s done and lies down next to Joker, unsure of what to make of Joker’s unusual silence. He’s starting to get worried he’s done something wrong and Joker is going to kill him in his sleep.

“You okay?” Bruce asks and Joker nods a little too fast.

“Just tired,” Joker mutters. Bruce finds that hard to believe under the circumstances.

“I got you water,” he offers instead of pressing the matter and grabs the glass, and finally Joker lowers his hands. He glances at Bruce’s face with an unreadable look in his eyes and pulls himself up, and mutters a thanks as he accepts the glass and downs the water in one go.

Joker leans past Bruce to put the glass back on the nightstand and lies back down with his back turned to Bruce, and it feels almost like a statement of some kind. Bruce follows his example and wraps his arms around him, keeping an eye for any signs of disagreement but finding none. He takes it as a good sign that Joker eventually snuggles against him.

“You sure everything’s fine?” Bruce asks cautiously and Joker nods again. Bruce hopes Joker really is just tired, and when his breathing evens out and he relaxes it seems like that’s what it was.

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce jolts awake on an empty bed. He’s lying on his stomach with his face pressed uncomfortably in the sheets, and the only source of light is the faint glow coming through the cracked bathroom door.

It’s still dark outside so Bruce can’t have slept for long, and Joker has probably just done his usual disappearing act so Bruce slumps back down and closes his eyes. He opens them a second later, unable to shake the nagging feeling that something is wrong. He groans softly and gets up, and pulls on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt before leaving the room to find out why he’s feeling so restless.

To his surprise Bruce finds Joker sitting cross legged in front of the living room glass wall in one of Bruce’s more expensive dress shirts and staring at the bat symbol in the sky. Bruce takes a moment to appreciate the sight before he clears his throat to make sure Joker knows he’s there and takes a few cautious steps into the room.

“Wonder what’s happened,” Joker muses. “Gordy’s still got the light up. Maybe I should go check it,” he continues too casually. Bruce doesn’t point out Gordon has a habit of keeping the light on even if there’s nothing needing Batman’s attention happening. Instead he crosses his arms and stands in the middle of a room that suddenly feels cold and too big, and prays for Gordon to turn the light off.

“Do you want to go?” Bruce asks quietly even though he dreads the answer.

“Aren’t you curious why that thing’s still there this late?” Joker counters.

“Not really.” Bruce doesn’t hesitate when he answers. It gets Joker to look at him over his shoulder with an expression Bruce can’t read even if it sends chill down his spine. Joker gets up in one graceful move and turns to face Bruce.

“Not even a little bit?“ He presses and tilts his head and his smile has an almost cruel edge to it, and it hits Bruce.

_He knows._

Everything stops and the ground seems to disappear beneath Bruce’s feet and the world narrows down to that one terrifying thought. Joker knows. There’s no way he doesn’t, Bruce had been stupid and careless and he’d let Joker see all his scars without any hesitation. Of course Joker had figured it out, especially since he’d put most of the scars where they are right now.

Bruce’s insides twist and he feels like throwing up and he’s getting light headed because Joker is standing there in his shirt and he _knows._ Bruce shakes his head, partly to clear it and partly in response to Joker and tries to keep his panic from showing.

“No,” he says, steady and far calmer than he feels, and something shifts behind Joker’s eyes.

“Well I wanna know what’s going in my city,” he states and walks across the floor and past Bruce without sparing a glance at him.

“You stay here and play the housewife while I go play with Bats,” he continues, almost like he’s hurt by Bruce’s lack of interest.

Suddenly Bruce feels stupid for thinking Joker had figured everything out. Joker is the one person in Gotham who actively avoids knowing who Batman is, fearing the truth would ruin his fun.

Bruce grinds his teeth together and tells himself it’s not worth getting worked up over, but he hates the obsession Joker has with Batman and he hates that he doesn’t know how to tell Joker the truth or if he even should. He hates competing with himself and that stupid spotlight Gordon has on his rooftop.

“Could I just be enough?” Bruce’s voice stops Joker in his tracks. “For one night?” Bruce hates the hint of desperation in his voice but he’s tired from lack of sleep and years of fighting and he just wants to have one night for himself.

Joker doesn’t turn around but he keeps clenching his fists so Bruce keeps pushing.

“I get that you’re obsessed or in love or something with Batman. Everyone knows that but...” Bruce sighs and he’s not sure why he’s even trying. Joker turns to look at him and there’s something in his eyes Bruce can’t quite identify but it’s almost like he’s waiting for something.

“I’m here,” Bruce says softly. “I’m right here,” Bruce repeats more to himself than Joker. It’s the closest to a confession he can get and he almost hopes Joker will figure the truth out just from it, even if it would mean he’ll end up attacking Bruce.

“I know,” Joker says and looks almost sad. He walks slowly towards Bruce and stops just out of his reach. Bruce takes a step forward and pulls Joker into his arms and buries his face in his hair.

Alfred would be proud of him for actually talking instead of keeping everything inside until he dies. But if it’s talking Joker wants then Bruce is going to step out of his comfort zone and give them to him.

It dawns on Bruce he might have pushed Joker out of his comfort zone earlier, and he should probably make sure he’s not about to be stabbed because of sex.

“If I did or said something to upset you would you tell me what it was so I won’t do it again?” Bruce mutters into Joker’s hair. Joker shakes his head minutely against Bruce’s chest and grips his shirt tightly.

“I’m not upset,” Joker replies.

“Liar.” Bruce leans back just enough to see Joker’s face. Joker scoffs and smiles weakly.

“I’m not upset with you,” Joker amends. Bruce waits for him to continue even as he tries to convince himself it shouldn’t matter so much.

“I might have wanted to brutally murder you for a second but I got over it,” Joker says casually and Bruce rolls his eyes.

“And why did you want to kill me?” Bruce asks and nudges Joker when he looks away.

“Doesn’t matter,” Joker says eventually. Bruce tries to argue but Joker interrupts him before he can get a word out. “It doesn’t! Everything’s fine so stop nagging.” Bruce can tell it’s not the entire truth and he tries very hard not to point it out.

“You know what’s interesting though? Besides Harley and Bats you’re the only one who can tell when I’m lying,” Joker muses.

“Really?” Bruce tries to look as surprised as he can even as the panic from before tries to rear its ugly head.

Joker laughs as he wraps his arms around Bruce’s neck and pulls him down until their foreheads are pressed together. He’s gazing into Bruce’s eyes with so much warmth and affection that if he were to tell Bruce he loved him Bruce would believe him in an instant.

“Tell me a secret,” Joker whispers and Bruce can feel his breath on his lips. “Tell me something no one else knows.” Bruce would lie if Joker wasn’t looking at him like that, but he can’t lie to Joker when he’s letting Bruce see that last shred of humanity he has left. He can’t be that cruel.

Bruce opens his mouth but he can’t make a sound and Joker’s eyes are too green to be real and Bruce is drowning in them. He loves Joker. Bruce just wishes Joker didn’t make it so damn hard for him to do so. He wishes he didn’t have this realization in the middle of the night with Joker looking at him like he’s the most important thing in his life. Bruce runs his thumb along Joker’s cheek and pretends nothing exists outside their little bubble.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Bruce says softly and the smile Joker gives him could probably solve all conflicts in the world. Joker leans his face on Bruce’s palm and Bruce wants to kiss him.

“You love me,” Joker says and though it’s obviously a joke it’s not unkind.

“Let’s not go that far,” Bruce replies and though it feels like a lie he can’t stop his amusement from shining through. Joker makes a soft keening sound and an excited grin spreads on his face. He practically melts in Bruce’s arms.

“You love me,” Joker repeats and Bruce doesn’t understand why it’s such a big deal to Joker all of the sudden. Especially when Bruce hasn’t even agreed with him.

“Shut up,” Bruce mutters. Joker laughs and buries his face in Bruce’s chest. He’s squeezing Bruce as tightly as he can, which considering his slim frame is really tight. Bruce rests his head on top of Joker’s and feels exhausted all of the sudden. He closes his eyes and focuses on Joker’s quick heartbeat, and if he’d have the energy he’d ask what Joker is thinking.

“Let’s go back to bed,” Bruce says eventually and Joker nods against his shirt. He pulls away from Bruce and offers his hand, and Bruce takes it and lets Joker lead him back to the bedroom.

And if Bruce curls around Joker a little more possessively than he should Joker doesn’t mention it.

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce is in the middle of having a conversation with Lucius about the importance of not getting stabbed through the armor plates of the batsuit when the phone on his desk rings. Bruce picks the handle up without much thought and apologizes to Lucius before answering.

“They canceled pizza day,” Joker’s voice comes through and Bruce is grateful he didn’t put the call on speaker. He’d like to know how Joker got this number and how he knew Bruce would be at the office. He’d also like yo know what the hell Joker is talking about.

“Can you hold on a sec?” Bruce presses the phone against his shoulder and smiles apologetically at Lucius.

“I need to take this,” he says and Lucius nods. Bruce waits until Lucius closes the doors before raising the phone back to his ear and sitting on his chair.

“Could you elaborate on that?” Bruce asks. He’s already feeling a headache coming.

“Pizza day at Arkham. Harley says it’s canceled. What’s next? The end of the world? Bats wearing pink? Actually I would pay to see that. Do you think I should throw paint on him or just kidnap like a hundred people and tell him to show up in all pink?” Joker’s rambling and Bruce has to ask him to slow down more than once while he checks if Harley’s escape has been reported to GCPD, and he’s definitely making a point of ignoring the idea of Batman in pink.

Bruce knows inmates at Arkham are allowed a slice of pizza every Friday if they’ve behaved well and as far as he knows it’s been one of Arkham’s better ideas. He’s a little surprised if it has been canceled.

“And you’re calling me because?” Bruce asks and almost rolls his eyes when there’s no mention of Harley being on the streets at GCPD’s system.

“Because you’re rich,” Joker replies. “And also because you’re on the board,” he continues hurriedly.

“I’m not sure what you want me to do. I’m not actually making decisions in there,” Bruce says. He still hacks Arkham’s financial records to see where the money is going.

“Just do something,” Joker says and hangs up. Bruce sighs and puts the phone away.

He gets Arkham’s records out and skims through them, and though he can’t see anything wrong with them he has a feeling something is awry. He’ll have to look into it at home, right now he has more pressing things to deal with than Arkham’s pizza day.

Bruce was intending to get to the bottom of Arkham’s finances when he got home but it takes him longer than he expected to get out of the office and he needs to shut his eyes for a while before going out on patrol. Bruce debates if he should ask Alfred to help him with the Arkham issue but he hasn’t reached a conclusion when he gets home so he keeps quiet.

Alfred offers him a bowl of soup that’s name Bruce can’t remember, and Bruce thanks him and decides he’s not going to bother Alfred with something that is probably nothing more than his imagination.

Bruce gets a few hours of sleep before going on patrol, and Barbara tells him to check a factory she’s sure Dent is using to launder money. Bruce follows her directions until he gets where she wants him and hides on a nearby rooftop to assess the situation. There’s definitely something going on and he tells Barbara he can see at least five armed men from where he is, and there’s sure to be more inside.

“I’ll see if I can hack the security system,” Barbara says and the line disconnects, and Bruce grapnels to another roof to see the factory from a different angle.

Barbara checks in to apologize she’s taking so long, but the systems have been shut down and it’s going to take her a minute to get them back online. Bruce tells her to take her time since he wouldn’t mind the advantage of having the cameras on without Dent’s men knowing about it.

“Do you want me to get Tim there?” Barbara asks and Bruce tells her not to bother. He’s not anticipating much trouble and Tim gets to use his detective skills with the missing person case he’s helping Gordon with.

Bruce is too lost in thought to realize someone is behind him until a his eyes are covered and a warm weight leans on his back.

“Guess who?” Joker’s voice comes next to Bruce’s ear and Bruce elbows him hard to get him off his back. Joker falls to the ground with a huff and erupts into a fit of hysterical giggles as soon as he regains his ability to breathe. Bruce stands up and glares at Joker, wondering how he found him.

“Nice to see you too,” Joker laughs and slowly sits up. Bruce keeps a close eye on him and takes a step back to put some distance between them, he’s not taking any chances this time.

“I’m not trying to pick a fight.” Joker raises his hands a little and smiles patiently. “I just saw you gliding through the sky and you looked so lonely I thought I’d say hi,” he continues as he stands up a makes a show of checking his ribs are still in one piece.

“I’m busy,” Bruce says before realizing he probably shouldn’t be engaging in Joker’s games. He makes no move to get back to observing the factory.

“You won’t even know I’m here,” Joker promises and dances to the edge of the roof and leans over the ledge to look down. Bruce refuses to let Joker’s unexpected presence affect him, and he remains cautious even as he returns to his original spot. He doesn’t jump when Barbara’s voice comes through the comms, no matter how much Joker tries to hide his laughter.

“I can’t hack it from here. They must’ve cut the cords or something,” Barbara says and she doesn’t sound happy. Bruce tells her it’s fine and shuts his comm so she can’t listen in while Joker is around. He’s going to have to improvise but he can go through the top windows and get Joker off his tail while he’s at it.

“I know how to get in. Without being spotted,” Joker offers. Bruce doesn’t need his help and he’s about to say so much when Joker speaks again. “It’ll get us right over big bad Harv’s money,” he says in a sing song voice and smiles. Bruce glances at Joker and takes a deep breath and tells himself he can do this on his own, he doesn’t need Joker to show him the way.

“What’s in it for you?” Bruce asks because he knows Joker. He knows Joker has something to gain from helping him and he’s not going to let his feelings for Joker to keep him from seeing that.

“Besides the pleasure of your company?” Joker raises his eyebrows and when Bruce levels him with an icy glare he sighs dramatically. “I can either break in there with you or I can find some other way to keep busy. I haven’t kidnapped the mayor’s daughter in a while,” Joker says and looks too smug for his own good. Bruce doesn’t trust Joker, at least not as Batman, and there’s something in the way Joker’s looking at him that sends chills down his spine. But Bruce can’t let Joker leave either.

“Don’t make me regret this,” Bruce grumbles eventually and Joker claps his hands in excitement as he skips across the roof to the fire escape and disappears out of Bruce’s sight. Bruce hurries after him, and just because he can he jumps down to the ground and waits for Joker to catch up.

“No need to show off. You know I already love you,” Joker says sweetly as he hops down to the ground. Bruce ignores the way his throat seizes up and waits for Joker to show him to the way, ignoring the way Joker eyes him as he walks past him. Joker rolls his eyes when Bruce doesn’t respond to him and steps to the manhole cover.

“I you would be so kind,” he says and motions Bruce to lift the heavy lid off. Bruce doesn’t glare at Joker when gets the lid off even though he wants to, and Joker hops down into the darkness before Bruce has a chance to say anything. Bruce sighs and gets his flashlight out before following Joker down, his feet splashing dirty water around when he hits the surface. Joker’s face twists in annoyance when the water hits his pants, even though he’s already standing in the almost knee deep stream.

“After you,” Bruce says and his lips quirk in amusement he’s not bothering to hide. Joker makes a face and punches the bat symbol on Bruce’s chest a bit too hard as he walks past Bruce and mumbles something about over-sized rodents. Bruce shakes his head as he follows after him.

Joker leads him through the sewers and up another manhole into a dusty old cellar underneath the factory. He motions Bruce to keep quiet and pushes a moldy looking crate aside to reveal a ventilation shaft, and Bruce helps Joker pull the rusty cover off and follows him into the narrow tunnel. Joker has the advantage in the cramped space, and Bruce almost tells him to slow down a little before Joker stops at a crossroad.

“Gimme the light,” Joker whispers and Bruce hands the flashlight to him. Joker shines the light to the tunnels and leans on his elbows to get a better look past the cobwebs, and though Bruce tries not to he can’t help but appreciate the sight of Joker bent over like that in front of him.

Bruce knows he shouldn’t look but Joker’s habit of having his clothes tailored to fit him perfectly causes the fabric of his pants is clinging to his ass in a too distracting way. Bruce’s weakness for that particular sight has definitely worsened since he started sleeping with Joker.

“Enjoying the view?” Joker’s amused voice snaps Bruce out of his thoughts and he looks away quickly. He’s blushing and he’s never been so grateful for having his face covered by a mask. Joker laughs and winks at Bruce.

“Wanna take a picture? I can do different poses if you want,” Joker suggests and wiggles his eyebrows. Bruce grabs Joker’s ankle and yanks hard before Joker can do anything else and it’s the worst decision Bruce has made that day.

Joker drops the flashlight and it clanks against the metal as Joker falls with a heavy thud and rolls over as he takes the opportunity to slide under Bruce, taking advantage of his size in the small space. He wraps his legs and arms around Bruce and pulls him off balance before Bruce has a chance to react. Joker chuckles and presses himself against Bruce’s body and pulls their faces so close their breaths mingle between them. Bruce might kiss him if he wasn’t wearing his mask.

“We could forget Dent and have a little fun,” Joker murmurs seductively and leans up to nose along the seam of Bruce’s cowl. It takes every ounce of self restraint Bruce has but he keeps his breathing calm and doesn’t react to Joker.

“Don’t you wanna know what it’d be like?” Joker whispers against Bruce’s lips and darts his tongue out, giving the corner of Bruce’s mouth a quick lick.

Bruce would be tempted to give Joker what he wants if he wasn’t so busy feeling sorry for himself. Of course Joker will always run back to Batman and there’s nothing Bruce Wayne can give him that would ever compare that in Joker’s eyes. Bruce considers knocking Joker out and leaving him tied up in the vents and marks it down as his first opinion if Joker doesn’t back down soon.

“But, being a man of such high morals you’d never let me cheat on my sweetie pie, right?” Joker says suddenly and noses at Bruce’s jaw. “I’m just a, uh, mentally unstable guy with poor impulse control so it’s really all on you at this point,” Joker continues as he runs his hands across Bruce’s back. Bruce doesn’t want to push Joker away and he doesn’t want to be so close to him.

“Get the flashlight.” Bruce forces the words out and to his relief his voice is a lot calmer than he feels. Joker lets go of him and quirks his lips, and shows Bruce the blade hidden in his sleeve.

“Good boy,” Joker says and pats Bruce’s cheek before slipping out from under him and scurrying after the flashlight. Bruce isn’t sure what Joker just tried to accomplish but apparently he got what he wanted. Which is strange considering he usually wants Batman to give in to him. Maybe he’s trying to make him jealous.

“You coming darling?” Joker calls over his shoulders and disappears into the ventilation system. Bruce shakes his head and goes after him, deciding that trying to figure out what goes on in Joker’s head is too much trouble.

Joker stops at the end of the short tunnel and unscrews the rusty bolts on the grate covering their entrance to the next room. They make their way silently up a shut down elevator shaft, down a hallway and into a control room, and soon Joker is doing a dramatic bow as Bruce walks up to the large broken window. He look out of a glass free spot on and sees large piles of money on the ground ten feet below them, and he’s only a little surprised Joker wasn’t lying to him.

“Told ya,” Joker whispers into his ear. Bruce ignores him in favor of counting Dent’s men on the ground. He pays for that mistake seconds later when Joker whistles loud to get Bruce’s attention. Joker dashes towards him and uses the pipes on the ceiling to get enough momentum to kick Bruce through the window. The last thing Bruce sees is the pipe giving away under Joker’s weight before he falls to a pile of money with a pained groan.

“Have fun guys!” Joker’s cheery voice calls from somewhere above Bruce, and Bruce has just the time to wonder if he can justify putting his lover to a full body cast before Dent’s men attack him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my bff for letting me kill off her oc's and nagging me about proper weapon terminology (it's just a wire wtf). Also my niece calls Penguin Pingu and it's the cutest thing ever.
> 
> Also it'll probably take me a few weeks to get the next chapter up because real life is demanding my attention. But maybe let me know what you think in the meantime?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure if I'd get this up today but I did it! And now I'm going to sleep for a week because the cold weather has given me the nastiest flu ever and I'm freezing. Also this chapter is the reason Tim is in this fic.

Bruce knows he got lucky Tim was nearby to help him, and he didn’t suffer any real damage even though Dent’s men gave it their best shot. Tim helps Bruce take the crew down and they call Barbara so that she can let GCPD know where to pick the crew up.

Bruce doesn’t stay out for the whole night even though he’d like to, his body objects too much under the new bruises and his mood isn’t that good after his brief team up with Joker. It hadn’t been exactly an ideal ending to the ordeal, and Tim can tell something is up even though he doesn’t say anything.

Bruce is about to head back to the manor when he gets a text, and if Tim wasn’t standing right next to him he might’ve pulled a face. Of course Joker has to give him even more trouble.

“Go home, I’ll stay at the penthouse tonight,” Bruce tells Tim who gives him a suspicious look before nodding and leaving to get his bike with a goodbye thrown over his shoulder. Bruce ignores Joker until Tim is out of his sight before pulling the message up and reading it again. He’s already annoyed and the message does nothing to lift his mood.

_I’m coming over_

Bruce closes his eyes for a second and takes a deep breath, reminding himself Bruce Wayne has no reason to be mad at Joker before answering.

_I’m trying to sleep_

He hits send and takes off towards the penthouse, knowing Joker will ignore any objections he might make. As he expected he gets a new message seconds later.

_Sleep is for the weak. Go take a cold shower_

If nothing else Bruce just got an excuse to wash the stink of sewer off of his skin. He gets to the penthouse and hides the batsuit and tries calm himself down as he takes a shower, counting the seconds as they tick by and waiting for Joker to arrive.

Bruce downs a few painkillers and makes sure his face looks okay before pulling on clean clothes and heading to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. He debates taking a shot of brandy, and he’s leaning on it being fine when the doorbell rings. Bruce sighs and takes his time getting to the door, and Joker’s mildly annoyed glare is definitely worth it.

Joker looks a little too smug for Bruce’s liking as he steps past Bruce, but he stays quiet while Joker circles the living room. Bruce decides he deserves his shot of brandy and goes to fill himself a glass, and after a second of hesitation he pours Joker a shot too.

Joker has spread himself on the couch by the time Bruce gets back to him, and he accepts the offered glass with a smile and a pleased noise. Bruce slumps down on a chair and ignores the confused look Joker throws his way.

“Did you want something?” Bruce asks, making sure his voice is mildly tired at most. Joker finishes his drink in one go before turning to smile at Bruce.

“Besides the pleasure of your lovely company?” He counters and tilts his head as he regards Bruce with thoughtful eyes.

“It’s four in the morning, I think I deserve the truth,” Bruce says, ignoring the way a flash of excitement runs through his body at the way Joker studies him.

“I just wanted to see you,” Joker replies and gets up. He walks up to the window and stares out into the city without a word, and Bruce downs his drink and lets his anger with Joker go for now. There’s no point in picking a fight with him as both Bruce Wayne and Batman.

“Look, I’m tired. Let’s go to bed,” Bruce says after a minute. Joker doesn’t seem to hear him though Bruce knows it couldn't be further from the truth. He sighs and runs his hands through his still wet hair before getting up and walking up to Joker.

Joker doesn’t react when Bruce wraps his arms around him and for a second Bruce worries he’s somehow upset him after all, but then Joker leans into him and relaxes into the embrace. Bruce decides it doesn’t matter if Joker had tried to make Batman jealous, it’s not worth fighting over, and getting kicked through a window is at least partly Bruce’s own fault for letting his guard down.

“Don’t you wanna know how my night was?” Joker asks after a while and Bruce hides an exasperated smile in his hair.

“How was your night?” He asks, indulging Joker even though he knows it’s probably not smart.

“I played a good guy for a change. I helped Bats sneak into Harvey’s secret money stash and he almost kissed me but I told him I’m already taken and he lost his chance. You think he’ll be okay?” Joker tilts his head and grins at Bruce like he’s expecting praise.

Bruce’s only reply is a shrug, and the way Joker’s face falls would be hilarious if Bruce had the energy to care. As it is he’s just refusing to go along Joker’s game and trying not to take it personally. Joker stares at Bruce with incredulous eyes and Bruce raises a questioning eyebrow, pretending he has no idea what Joker wants from him.

“You’re not gonna say anything?” Joker asks and there's a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“What do you want me to say? If you want to throw yourself at someone else it's your business,” Bruce says and does his best to sound like he means it.

“I didn't say I threw myself at anyone,” Joker points out and frowns.

“I’m assuming,” Bruce replies fast and hopes Joker lets it go. Joker studies him for a moment longer before turning his attention back to the window. It's obvious he’s been offended by Bruce’s lack of interest. Bruce doesn’t say anything at first, but after thinking it over he decides it’s not something he's willing to start a fight over.

“Any particular reason you're trying to make me jealous?” Bruce asks, making sure his voice stays casual.

“I’m not trying to make you jealous,” Joker corrects him and pulls himself out of Bruce’s arms. Bruce doesn’t exactly sigh but it's close, and he watches Joker cross the room to the couch, unsure of what’s going on.

“What did you want from me then?” Bruce asks and crosses his arms. Joker doesn't turn to face him though he stops short of picking his coat up.

“Doesn't matter,” he replies, but the tension in his shoulders tells another story.

“Look, I can't read your mind. You have to tell me what you want from me,” Bruce says and steps into Joker’s line of sight. Joker rolls his eyes and turns his attention to Bruce even though everything in him screams he’s not interested in the topic anymore.

“So not jealousy. What, you wanted the whole no one else can have you possessive thing then? Do you need me to buy you a collar or something?” Bruce levels Joker with an amused look and tries not to smirk when Joker’s face twitches minutely at his words.

“Doesn’t matter, you ruined it. I’m going home,” Joker mutters and picks his coat up. “And you don’t have the balls to put a collar on me,” he calls over his shoulder and Bruce does his best not to take it as a dare.

Letting Joker leave would be the smart choice, but Bruce isn’t tired anymore and he can’t help but find Joker’s behavior kind of adorable. So Bruce goes after him and stops him before he reaches the door, and grabs his arm. Joker yanks himself free as he turns to glare at Bruce.

“You don’t have to go,” Bruce says and raises his hands slightly to calm Joker down. “I missed you,” he tries and it gets Joker’s eyes to soften slightly. Bruce takes the opportunity to pull Joker back into his arms.

“You’re such a romantic,” Joker deadpans but it’s not unkind. Bruce considers his options for a moment before his lips curl into a playful smirk. He gives Joker a second to realize what’s happening before pushing him against the closest wall a little too hard and clashing their mouths together in a bruising kiss.

Joker lets out a surprised noise that turns into a moan when Bruce takes hold of his jaw, pressing his thumbs on Joker’s throat just enough for it to feel like a threat and pulls his face up, forcing him to stretch his neck as far as he can. Joker’s hands shoot into Bruce’s hair, pulling and tugging it before he runs his nails down Bruce’s back and sides as he wraps his leg around Bruce’s waist to get him closer.

Bruce groans and bites Joker’s lip hard enough to draw blood and swallows the needy little sounds Joker makes as their growing erections grind together. Bruce uses his his body to press Joker flat against the wall and grinds against him as he squeezes Joker’s throat a little harder just to get a desperate whimper out of him.

Joker’s clinging to Bruce’s shirt and his sharp nails dig into his back, probably drawing blood but Bruce doesn’t care. He sucks Joker’s lower lip into his mouth and worries it with his teeth while he yanks Joker’s tie off.

Bruce has the sense not to accidentally tear any buttons off of Joker’s vest or shirt, no matter how much he suddenly hates them, and he pulls them to Joker’s elbows, trapping his arms in place and getting another loud moan out of him.

Bruce pulls Joker’s head back with one hand and runs the other across his chest before rubbing his thumb over a nipple, making Joker jolt against him. Bruce lets Joker breathe and moves to sinking his teeth into his pale skin, leaving bruises and teeth marks in his wake.

“Bruce,” Joker breathes and it sounds like a prayer.

Bruce gives him what he wants. He works Joker’s pants open and barely takes the time to push them down before he’s got his hand wrapped around Joker’s cock, stroking him fast and hard.

“Sweetie,” Joker’s breath hitches and Bruce has to pull up to see how he looks. It takes his breath away. Joker smiles at him, shaky and beautiful even with his smudged lipstick and the blood in his mouth, and Bruce can’t stop the possessive growl escaping his lips.

Joker grins and surges up to kiss Bruce and it’s messy and desperate, and Bruce takes the chance to thrust his tongue into Joker’s mouth. He runs his fingers along Joker’s jaw and cups his cheek, gentle and loving compared to the way he’s crushing Joker into the wall and jerking him off a little too rough to feel entirely good.

It doesn’t take long for Joker to tense against Bruce and come with a cry, and Bruce breaks the kiss and lets go of Joker in order to push his own pants down. He buries his face in Joker’s neck and strokes himself a few times before his own orgasm hits him.

Bruce holds Joker up while they catch their breaths. He stands straighter once he feels like his legs won’t give out under him and pulls Joker off the wall, letting his shirt and vest finally fall to the floor, and Joker lets out a soft groan at his new found freedom and lets his head fall on Bruce’s shoulder.

“You okay?” Bruce asks softly and tries to get a look at Joker’s face, but only manages to get a face full of hair. Joker nods against his shoulder and takes a deep breath before turning to face him.

“I’m good,” he assures and offers Bruce a lazy smile that makes the cut on his lip bleed again. Bruce presses his thumb to the wound, momentarily fascinated by the contrast the bright red blood creates on his pale skin. Joker blinks slowly and stares at Bruce with wide eyes, and there’s something almost innocent in his expression. It’s enough to snap Bruce back to reality.

“How about you take a shower and then we get some sleep,” Bruce suggests. Joker nods and pushes himself off of Bruce. He seems a little unsure on his feet for a second so Bruce stays ready to grab him if he falls. Joker gives him an exasperated look that borders on affectionate so Bruce gives him some space and tries not to smile.

Joker strips the rest of his clothes off without a word as he saunters past Bruce, leaving him standing alone in the living room. Bruce watches Joker go until he disappears around a corner and fixes his own clothes before picking Joker’s discarded ones up, figuring Joker will be happier if he’ll find them on a chair rather than the floor.

Bruce takes his time cleaning himself up before changing his clothes. He considers waiting for Joker to get out of the shower but he’s tired and Joker can stay in the shower for a ridiculously long time when he feels like it. So Bruce turns the lights off and crawls into his bed with a satisfied sigh.

Bruce is half asleep by the time Joker curls up next to him, and his lips curl into a tired smile when he realizes Joker is wearing one of his shirts again. Bruce closes his eyes again, intending to go back to sleep, but something is bothering him so he nudges Joker to make sure he’s still awake.

“What was with you today?” Bruce asks, and for a moment he thinks Joker won’t answer him, but then he sighs and pushes himself up so he can look down to Bruce’s face.

“Maybe I wanted to see what you’d do. Maybe I wanted you to get a little jealous, maybe I wanted you to get really insecure about us. Maybe both maybe neither. Maybe your bossy side just gets me all warm and tingly inside. Whatever makes you happy,” Joker replies and Bruce can see his smile even in the dark.

“The truth would make me happy,” Bruce says even though he knows he’s not likely to get anything out of Joker.

Joker laughs and presses a kiss on Bruce’s cheek. “Truth is boring,” he whispers into Bruce’s ear before settling back down, and Bruce knows there’s no point in pushing it further.

He’ll have to try figure it out on his own if he wants an answer, and though it’s not that important Bruce is curious as to why Joker suddenly wants to be thrown around when a while ago he’d been against it.

“Stop thinking and go to sleep,” Joker mutters and gives Bruce’s shoulder a tired shove. Bruce sighs and forces his mind to slow down as he wraps his arms around Joker and closes his eyes. He can always get back to it in the morning.

 

* * *

 

To Bruce’s relief Joker keeps himself busy, giving him a chance to heal his wounds in peace. It comes with the downside of Bruce not knowing if Joker is planning his next big performance or if he’s staying away for some other reason, and after a week of waiting for Joker to show up again Bruce has enough of the waiting. He calls Joker on Friday evening and hopes Joker is up for a night out. Not that Bruce knows how he’s supposed to take Gotham’s most wanted criminal out, but he’ll improvise if Joker is up for it.

It takes so long for Joker to answer Bruce thinks he won’t pick up at all, but right when Bruce is about to hang up Joker’s voice comes through the line. “What’s up sweetie pie? Was just thinking about you. Specifically how much fun you’re in bed. I could use a reminder.”

“I thought we could go out,” Bruce replies, ignoring Joker’s suggestive tone. Joker hums and Bruce waits for his answer with baited breath.

“You sure you wanna be seen with me?” Joker asks eventually with a strangely soft voice, almost like he’s afraid Bruce will change his mind.

“We’ll go somewhere where we won’t draw attention. It’s Gotham, there should be plenty options for that,” Bruce responds as casually as he can.

“Okay then. I’ll pick you up. Where are you?” Joker says, sounding a lot happier. Bruce smiles until he remembers he’s at the manor and there’s no way Joker is getting there with Alfred around, and he tells Joker as much, promising to meet him at the city in a few hours.

Joker laughs. “I’ll come pick you up,” he says and hangs up. Bruce curses and pockets his phone as he hurries to take a shower and pick something to wear. He should’ve done all of that before he called Joker but he just hadn’t thought it this far.

A quick shower and a shave later Bruce stands in his large closet trying to decide what to wear. He wants to put on something Joker will like without seeming like that’s what he’s doing, and it’s proving to be more difficult than he thought.

He’s trying to decide between the dark gray suit Barbara says looks nice on him and the navy blue one his tailor says brings out his eyes when something taps on his balcony windows. Bruce peeks out of the closet and tiptoes to pull the curtains aside, ready for anything.

Bruce figures he shouldn’t be surprised to see Joker pressing his face to the glass and grinning widely as he waves his hand. His lipstick is a darker shade than the usual red and it leaves stains to the glass when Joker presses a kiss to it. Bruce takes a deep breath and bites his lip as he opens the door to let Joker in.

“How are you here?” Bruce asks quietly and glances at the bedroom door to make sure it’s closed.

“Magic," Joker deadpans as he shrugs his coat off and drops it on the bed. It’s been a while since Bruce has last seen the deep purple leather trench and he wonders if Joker had it on him before Bruce called him. Joker has also ditched his usual suits in favor of a new version of the nearly black suit he’d bought for the anniversary months ago.

Joker looks around the room before focusing his attention to Bruce with an excited smile on his lips. Bruce suppresses the need to say no even before Joker has said anything and fixes a smile on his face.

“Let’s play dress up!” Joker claps his hands and skips past Bruce into the closet. Bruce closes his eyes for a second and sighs before following Joker, and he leans on the door frame as Joker takes care of his wardrobe problem. Joker goes through his suits with a critical eye and occasionally pulls one out to take a closer look at it before hanging them back up with a disapproving pout.

“This one,” Joker decides after a few minutes and pulls out the all black Gucci and hands it to Bruce with a self satisfied smirk on his face. Bruce changes into the suit without a word and revels in the appreciative once over Joker gives him.

“Black is definitely your color,” Joker purrs and runs his nails along Bruce’s chest on his way to pick the tie and cufflinks he wants Bruce to wear Bruce fastens the cufflinks Joker hands him while Joker fixes his tie, and Bruce notes the color matches Joker’s lipstick.

“And now we match!” Joker smiles brightly and pats Bruce’s cheek. Bruce takes the opportunity to grab Joker’s face and pull him into a kiss. Joker leans into him easily and licks his way into Bruce’s mouth as he throws his arms around Bruce’s shoulders.

Bruce could forego the whole night out plan in favor of having Joker right there.

The sudden knock on the bedroom door and Tim’s muffled voice comes through it makes Bruce jump and pull away from Joker. He almost panics when he realizes what’s happening, and he calls Tim to give him a second before focusing on Joker.

“Just wait here. I’ll get rid of him. I’ll be right back,” Bruce promises and stands still while Joker wipes the lipstick stains from his face before hurrying to open the door for Tim. He hides Joker’s coat under the covers on his way and picks his phone up so he can pretend he was in the middle of a all when Tim knocked on the door.

Tim’s curious as to why it took Bruce so long to open the door and Bruce raises his phone a little for Tim to see, making sure his face doesn’t betray how anxious he still is. Tim nods slowly and takes in Bruce’s outfit with confused eyes.

“Are you going on a date or something?” Tim asks as he steps into the room.

“Yeah. Don’t tell Alfred,” Bruce replies and smirks at the dumbfounded look on Tim’s face. He makes a bit of a show of putting the phone in his pocket before crossing his arms and staring at Tim expectantly.

“I won’t. I was just wondering if you needed any help tonight,” Tim says. “Guess that’s a bit pointless if you’re going out.” He smiles and waves Bruce goodbye as he heads back to the door.

“You could call Dick,” Bruce suggests against his better judgement but it’s preferable to Tim tracking his phone out of curiosity and boredom. Tim’s eyes brighten and he nods.

“I will,” he agrees and leaves Bruce to get ready for his date.

Bruce stares at the door as worry eats him from the inside. He’s not comfortable letting Tim go on patrol without him being ready to step in if needed, and though Tim’s been training with the Titans lately and Dick will be there Bruce still worries. At least Joker won’t be causing any trouble for him.

Bruce calms himself down and goes to see what Joker is up to, and he’s not surprised to find him sprawled on the floor playing candy crush on his phone. Some of the tightness in Bruce eases and he waits patiently until Joker finishes the game and gets up, and smooths down his clothes. He’s fixed his makeup while Bruce wasn’t around.

“Meet you at the gates?” Joker asks as he walks past Bruce in search of his coat. Bruce gets it for him and asks Joker if he brought a car, and Joker nods.

“I’ll see you in ten,” Bruce says and closes the balcony doors behind Joker. He’s almost giddy with excitement as he hurries through the corridors of Wayne Manor, avoiding detection to the best of his abilities.

He faces a problem when he has to hide from Alfred right before walking out of the front door. He could slip out from another door but he’d lose time and he doesn’t want that. Lucky for Bruce Tim shows up and distracts Alfred long enough for Bruce to slip out of the door undetected. Bruce waves Tim goodbye and mouths a thank you before bolting down the long drive way.

It takes him a little more than ten minutes to get to the gate and into Joker’s car but Joker doesn’t mention it. Bruce settles into his seat while Joker starts the car and speeds through the streets, and Bruce trust him to know where he’s going.

“You’re not allergic to anything are you?” Joker asks and glances at Bruce with a hint of concern in his eyes.

“Not to my knowledge,” Bruce answers. Joker hums and taps the steering wheel, and slowly his lips pull into an excited grin.

“Great. Let’s go get dinner. Your treat,” Joker says and drives a little faster. Bruce doesn’t object though he didn’t actually imagine he’d be going to dinner with Joker, he’d thought something along the lines of a drink in a dim bar and maybe a blowjob somewhere out of sight.

“Where are we going?” Bruce asks, curious to hear where Joker thinks they can go. It’s not like Joker can just walk into a restaurant and ask for a table. Or at least he can’t do so without the GCPD raiding the place in minutes.

“Ozzie keeps a table free for me,” Joker replies. Bruce raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything though he hopes Cobblepot won’t be there to pick a fight with Joker.

Joker follows the speed limits once they reach downtown area and Bruce watches his city go by while Joker sings under his breath. It’s calming and familiar, and Bruce lets himself get lost in Joker’s melodic voice as he enjoys the warmth sweeping through his bones.

“I adore you and no one before you could make me feel this way, yeah. Since I met you I just can't forget you,” Joker hums without realizing Bruce is listening. Bruce knows that song, and he turns his eyes to Joker with a soft smile playing on his lips.

Joker falls silent when he notices Bruce’s staring and focuses on the road as he bites his lip, looking almost embarrassed. Bruce wishes he hadn’t stopped, he’s actually a decent singer when he’s not trying to put on a show. Bruce reaches to take Joker’s hand on an impulse and kisses his knuckles as he entwines their fingers and gives them a squeeze.

He doesn’t let go until Joker parks the car.

“Let’s go see what Pingu’s up to,” Joker says and hops out of the car. Bruce follows him and glances around to see if anyone is paying attention to them, but even when Joker hooks their arms and walks him into the Iceberg Lounge nobody even glances at them.

The host ignores all the other customers in favor of showing them to their table and sucking up to Joker as much as he can in the brief walk to a nice, secluded table. Bruce leaves the seat with the best view of the restaurant to Joker, assuming he’ll want to  and accepts the menu with a polite smile and a thanks. Joker shoos the host away as soon as he has his menu, and rolls his eyes when the man practically runs away.

“The salmon’s pretty good,” Joker says and skips straight to the wine section. “I’m thinking white Pinot Noir.” Bruce smiles knowingly and glances up from his menu.

“Goes well with salmon,” Bruce points out. Joker smiles and tries to look as innocent as he can.

“I had no idea,” he quips as he pulls up the menu. “What else is good with it?”

“Tuna,” Bruce answers with what comes first to his mind and closes his menu. The unlucky waitress assigned to their table comes to take their order, and Bruce has to give her credit for staying professional the whole time.

Joker gets his bottle of wine and Bruce has to remind him he’s driving. “I’ll just call Jonny if I can’t drive,” Joker laughs and waves Bruce’s worry away, and it’s good enough for Bruce. By the time their food arrives Bruce is enjoying himself enough to not care if Joker drinks the whole bottle alone.

“Do they make everyone else wait while they cater to you?” Bruce asks as he inspects his plate. The salmon smells delicious and suddenly Bruce is starving.

“Yup. I’m royalty,” Joker replies and flashes Bruce a blinding grin before shoving a forkful of fish into his mouth. Bruce bites back his sarcasm and focuses on the food before him.

The soft chatter of the other customers mixes with the background music. It’s comfortable and easy and Bruce can pretend they’re just two ordinary people sharing a meal.

“Do you think the swordfish hunters have to fight the fish with swords? Do they dive underwater in those silly get ups and go En Garde on the fish?” Joker makes a little stabbing motions with his knife. “Or maybe they’re more like pirates since it’s the sea,” he continues and looks at Bruce for his opinion.

“Well, you can fence under water but the swordfish would have the advantage so it’s probably not the best method to catch them,” Bruce offers. Joker hums with a thoughtful frown on his face and taps his nails against his wine glass.

“It’d be fun to see though,” Joker points out and Bruce can’t argue with him, though he suspects his imagination offers a lot less gory version of what might happen. Still, no point arguing over the little things.

Bruce has fun up until the point Cobblepot walks up to their table with a smug sneer on his face. Joker stops arguing over the benefits of having dessert, which Bruce doesn’t mind since he’d promised Joker he could have the cheesecake he wants so much five minutes ago, he just wishes it wasn’t because of Cobblepot.

“Well look who deigns to show his face among us commoners.” Cobblepot stops in front of Joker and tries his best to tower over him. Joker looks less than impressed and twirls his glass, sparing Bruce a subtle, unreadable glance.

“I’m not the one who tried to start a gang war and got their ass kicked,” Joker mutters, still more focused on his wine more than Cobblepot. Bruce bites his tongue to keep quiet, interested to see where this would lead as much as he’s worried a fight will break out.

“You know I don’t want your brand of bullshit in here,” Cobblepot continues without paying attention to Joker’s comment. Joker bursts into excited laughter and points at Cobblepot as he tries to catch his breath.

“He thinks I kidnapped you,” Joker explains to Bruce between breaths while Cobblepot tries to appear unfazed. Bruce smiles politely and pours himself more wine to have something to do while the two criminals catch up.

Joker catches his breath and finally turns to grin at Cobblepot. “You don’t kidnap a piggy bank you overgrown blob. You play nice until it agrees to buy you dinner.” Cobblepot glances at Bruce to gauge his reaction to Joker’s words, but Bruce has mastered the art of deception a long time ago and he makes a point of playing the part of the billionaire playboy who doesn’t realize how dangerous Joker can be.

“So the cops aren’t looking for him?” Cobblepot asks and Joker shakes his head indulgently.

“Good. Keep it that way,” Cobblepot orders and Joker rolls his eyes and looks up to Cobblepot with amused eyes. Bruce has to bite his lips to keep from laughing at the sight of Cobblepot trying and failing to intimidate Joker.

“Now why don’t you waddle back to your puddle and leave the grownups alone?” Joker has that sweet smile that promises murder on his lips and Bruce hopes Cobblepot can see the danger in front of him.

“It’s my establishment,” Cobblepot retorts and leans in closer to Joker. Bruce should’ve realized Cobblepot’s ego would keep him from leaving when he had the chance. “Why don’t you go back to blowing the guards at Arkham for crayons?”

It’s the wrong thing to say and Bruce freezes when Joker’s grin turns cruel, and he’s pressing a gun against Cobblepot’s groin before anyone can react. Cobblepot squawks and his face pales in fear, but he has the sense to stay still.

“You’re making me a very unhappy clown,” Joker growls and grinds the gun into Cobblepot’s crotch harder. “You do not want me to be Pagliacci.”

Bruce stays calm, at least on the outside, and runs his foot along Joker’s leg to ground him. Joker doesn’t ease off Cobblepot but he rests his leg against Bruce’s foot so maybe it’s working.

“Look, maybe we can work something out,” Cobblepot says with a shaky smile and blinks to keep the sweat on his forehead from falling into his eyes. Bruce presses his foot harder against Joker’s leg when he laughs.

“Maybe I’ll blow your balls off since you finally grew a pair of them,” Joker counters and tilts his head as he regards Cobblepot with a too sweet smile on his face. Bruce wonders if kicking Joker is a viable option.

“Hold on.” Cobblepot is starting to shake and Bruce wishes he’d calm down, he’s only feeding Joker’s hostility.

“Say bye bye,” Joker says like one would say to a child, and Cobblepot finally takes a step back. It’s too late, Joker’s already aiming his gun and laughing and he’s going to kill Cobblepot right there-

“Chocolate.” Bruce’s voice surprises Joker enough to keep him from pulling the trigger and Cobblepot stares at Bruce like he just grew a second head.

“Strawberry’s kind of a cliche. Everybody always has strawberry cheesecake so get chocolate,” Bruce says, seemingly oblivious to the scene playing in front of him. It takes Joker a second to realize Bruce is answering his question about whether or not he should go with the strawberry or chocolate cheesecake, and he laughs and shakes his head minutely when it hits him.

“I’m not getting shot?” Cobblepot asks tentatively and eyes the gun in Joker’s hand. Joker waves him off and holsters the gun.

“Not if you get me a big slice of cake,” Joker replies and grins, happy and bright with not even a hint of the hostility he’d shown just seconds ago to be found.

“Okay.” Cobblepot nods and collects himself before walking away as fast as his dignity allows.

Joker waits until Cobblepot is out of sight before turning his attention to Bruce. “I wasn’t gonna kill him,” he scoffs. Bruce doesn’t bother saying he’s not buying it, instead he focuses on what remains of his wine and gulps it down in one go, satisfied no one got killed.

“Sweetie.” Bruce looks up from the table at Joker’s patient tone. “I didn’t mean to do that. I just got a bit carried away, that’s all,” Joker says with an apologetic smile plastered on his face. Bruce forces himself to smile and nod even though he knows Joker is trying to play him.

“Don’t be mad,” Joker says softly and nudges Bruce’s foot with his own.

“I’m not,” Bruce assures him. Bruce doesn’t have the energy to get mad over something Joker does naturally. He’d tell Joker to stop worrying if their waitress wouldn’t show up with Joker’s cheesecake at that moment, and Joker forgets Bruce’s emotional state the second he has his dessert. Bruce asks the young woman for the bill and she promises to bring it over in a little while.

“You gotta try this,” Joker says and shoves a spoonful of cake to Bruce’s face. Bruce glances up from the spoon to Joker’s excited face before leaning forward and taking the spoon into his mouth. He keeps his eyes on Joker to see that slight darkening of his eyes he likes. It’s a promise of things to come and a chill of anticipation runs through Bruce.

“Wanna get out of here or should we see how red Ozzie’s face will get if I do a little table dancing?” Joker asks in a low voice and licks his lips seductively. Bruce follows the movement closely and swallows, trying not to get distracted.

“You can dance at home,” Bruce says and smiles as reaches for his half empty glass. Joker hums softly before finishing the cake in record time, and Bruce pays their bill and leaves the waitress a hefty tip for her troubles.

 

* * *

 

Joker insists on driving, and even though Bruce worries he might have had a bit too much wine Joker assures him he’s perfectly qualified to drive. “I’ve won Bats in a race when I was as high as his cute little ears. I can drive,” he declares, and Bruce is too busy trying not to be insulted to object when Joker gets into the driver's seat.

“What now?” Bruce asks as he keeps a close eye on the road, ready to grab the wheel if Joker is about to run someone over or crash the car.

“Now we find me a table to dance on,” Joker replies and winks. Bruce can get behind that.

They’re halfway to the penthouse when Joker’s phone rings. Bruce turns his eyes to the passenger side window as a courtesy when Joker answers the phone, and his attention zeroes on Joker’s voice.

“I’m busy,” Joker says between gritted teeth with a kind voice. Bruce feels sorry for whoever is on the other end of the line. Bruce can’t hear what the person on the phone says, but he can see Joker’s reflection on the window and his expression goes from pissed off to confused to completely done with the call in a span of thirty seconds.

“Gimme ten minutes,” Joker sighs and hangs up before making one of the most terrifying u-turns Bruce has ever experienced. Bruce grabs the handle in surprise and glares at Joker.

“You might wanna get out,” Joker says without looking at Bruce.

“You want me to jump or are you gonna stop the car first?” Bruce deadpans. Joker levels him with a blank stare, but he’s fighting back a smile.

“Or you could tell me why I should go and I decide if I want to or not,” Bruce says in his best CEO voice. Joker barks a laugh and glances at Bruce as he considers his options.

“I’m picking Harley up,” Joker says without taking his eyes off the road. Bruce nods and wonders if it’s worth the trouble to stay and say hi to her.

“Sounds fun.” Bruce says eventually and settles into his seat to show Joker he’s not going anywhere.

“She could get jealous and kill you,” Joker points out, but he’s not slowing the car down.

“I’m trusting you to protect me,” Bruce replies and flashes Joker his best playboy smile.

“Sweetie you’re adorable and I love you but if you come with me and Harls you’re gonna crumble like the pretty little snowflake you are. And then I’ll never see you again.” Joker turns to pout at Bruce. “It would break my heart.”

Bruce chuckles. “I’m not leaving you,” he promises and fixes a serious expression on his face. “And you’re not ditching me for your ex on our date.” Joker raises an eyebrow and nods slowly, and Bruce turns to face the road.

Joker keeps his mouth shut and lets Bruce stay in the car, and Bruce keeps himself purposefully relaxed as Joker drives them through the city, into the fashion district, past Killinger’s, and stops the car in front of a dark alley.

“Open the door,” Joker orders and points at the door behind Bruce, and Bruce does as he’s told. Less than a minute later Harley comes careening down the alley and dives into the car, and Joker steps on the gas and speeds off.

“Why is Bruce Wayne in your car?” Harley asks as she settles into the middle seat and leans forward to press a kiss on Joker’s cheek.

“Because he bought me dinner and after I throw you out in about five minutes he gets to fuck me anyway he likes,” Joker answers and glares at Harley through the mirror. Harley is too busy turning her curious eyes to Bruce to notice how little Joker wants her there.

“So this is how it’s gonna be, huh? I steal your girlfriend you steal my Puddin’. What’s that make us?” She eyes Bruce’s face with an exaggerated frown on her face.

“Best friends or mortal enemies,” Bruce replies with a charming smile.

“So which is it pretty boy?” Harley crosses her arms and leans back on her seat, and Bruce turns to look at her with a playful glint in his eyes.

“I’ll tell you Selina’s secrets if you tell me his,” Bruce offers.

“I’m gonna enjoy being your friend,” Harley decides and Joker makes a face.

“Nobody’s sharing any secrets,” Joker snaps and glares at them both. Harley rolls her eyes and winks at Bruce despite Joker grumbling in the front seat, and Bruce flashes her a bright grin before sitting back in his seat. Joker glances at Bruce with an unreadable expression before turning his attention to Harley.

“Tell me where you’re going or I’m dropping your ass on the sidewalk.” Harley laughs and leans to rest her chin on Joker’s shoulder despite the dangerous way his mouth twitches.

“You do know he’s gonna crumble like the pretty little snowflake he is when the honeymoon ends, right?” Harley stage whispers and stares at Joker’s face with a mockingly serious look.

“I thought he was your new best friend,” Joker whispers back and mimics the look on her face.

“He is. And I’m doing my best friend duty by protecting him,” Harley says and purses her lips. Joker spares her a bored look before hitting the brakes so hard Harley nearly hits her head on the dashboard and Bruce has to brace himself against the impact.

“What the hell?” Bruce glowers at Joker while Harley pulls herself back to her seat without a word. Joker just  shrugs and offers Bruce an apologetic smile. Bruce sets his jaw and spares Harley a concerned glance before turning to stare out of the passenger side window.

Bruce is considering the benefits of calling Joker out on his behavior when a police car blares its sirens behind them, and Harley and Joker snap their attention to the back window.

“Shit,” they mutter in unison and Bruce has a second to marvel at how in sync they still are before Joker stomps on the gas and Harley erupts in joyous laughter.

“What did you do?” Joker asks and grins at Harley. She squirms and bites her lip and digs through her pockets. She pulls out a diamond necklace Bruce knows is worth over a hundred thousand dollars, and he has to admit he’s impressed.

“It looked so pretty,” Harley explains and puts the necklace on. She admires her reflection on the rear view mirror while Joker laughs and takes a hard left to lose the police chasing them.

Bruce sighs and slumps into his seat. He knows there’s no way the police will catch Joker so he might as well enjoy being on this side of a car chase for once. Harley opens a window and leans out to wave at the police and laugh in their face, and Bruce tries not to smile.

Then Harley makes an excited noise and gets up to Joker’s face. “Birdie at twelve o’clock.”

Joker’s eyes snap to the mirror as Harley falls back to the backseat and rummages through her bag. Bruce has to turn to look out of the rear window to see it with his own eyes and he grinds his teeth as hard as he can and when he sees both Tim and Dick on their motorcycles trying to catch the car. He takes a sharp breath and turns to face the front, fighting the fear trying to take hold of him. He catches Joker looking the at him from the corner of his eye with an expression Bruce can’t read before the car swerves to the right and speeds through the streets.

It gets even worse when Harley pulls out a gun and starts shooting at Dick, cursing him to hell and back. Joker laughs and grins as he keeps glancing at the mirrors like he’s waiting for something, and it doesn’t take long for Bruce to realize he’s expecting Batman to join the chase.

Bruce can’t breathe.

If he’d gotten out when he had the chance he could’ve given Joker exactly what he wants right now. If he’d gotten out Dick and Tim wouldn’t be in danger. Bruce almost laughs when it dawns on him that they probably don’t even know that he’s chasing Joker of all people, and Dick isn’t enough to keep Tim safe if Joker lashes out.

And Joker will lash out. Bruce bites the insides of his cheeks and tastes blood, but he can’t bring himself to care as his eyes dart between Joker, the mirror and the road ahead of them.

“Your boyfriend’s about to crumble,” Harley laughs and shakes her head at Bruce with an overly disappointed pout on her face. Joker spares Bruce a brief glance before focusing on the road again, much more interested in the action around them than Bruce’s emotional state.

“He’ll be fine,” Joker mutters. Bruce wants to say he won’t be fine, he’ll be devastated if Joker does anything to his family and he’ll never forgive it but he can’t. He’s just going to have to trust Tim and Dick not to get killed. Bruce forces himself to calm down and focuses his attention on the side mirror. Tim has his new bike under him and it’s fast enough to catch the car, but it’s also a bit stiff when turning left and if Bruce is lucky that’ll backfire on Tim soon.

“You see him yet?” Joker barks at Harley, who shakes her head as she reloads her gun. Joker snarls and bangs his hand on the steering wheel, his face twisting in rage. Bruce meets Harley’s worried eyes and she shakes her head minutely and mouths _Batman_ at him. Bruce offers her a barely visible nod and takes a deep breath, trying to come up with something to keep Joker from killing his kids.

“They’re gonna be roadkill.” Joker is seething, and Harley ducks her head out of the window and starts firing at their chasers to keep herself from facing Joker’s anger.

“They’re just kids,” Bruce tries.

“I don’t care! We had a deal. Those brats aren’t supposed to come near me,” Joker shouts and glares at Bruce with murder in his eyes, and Bruce takes a deep breath as he shrinks into himself to keep himself from looking like a threat.

“They’re after Harley, not you. I’m willing to bet all the money I have that they don’t even know you’re driving,” Bruce says as calmly as he can, even though his mind is in turmoil and he feels sick with worry.

“I don’t care,” Joker growls.

Bruce glances at the mirror and sets his jaw before going with the worst idea he’s ever had and praying it will work. “Don’t put me in this position,” he says and stares at Joker.

“If you care about me at all you’re not going to hurt a child in front of me,” he continues more forcefully and finally Joker spares him a look. Bruce counts it as progress and makes a decision before sending a silent apology to Tim.

“Take a hard left,” he orders and ignores the incredulous way Joker laughs at him.

“And why would I do anything you say, huh? You don’t want to get rid of them,” he says and glares at Bruce while Harley pulls herself back into the car and observes the argument silently, and Bruce catches the small encouraging smile she offers him.

“Because I’m on your side. I don’t want them to catch you. Especially with me in the car,” Bruce answers. He’d rather not find out how many hoops he’d have to jump to explain this particular situation away and if that means keeping Joker and Harley out of jail then so be it.

“And apparently I’m the only one who’s paid attention to what those kids are doing instead of focusing on someone who isn’t even here.” Bruce bites his tongue when his voice turns a bit too mean, but he catches Joker’s attention.

“Care to explain?” Joker demands.

“The bike Robin’s riding is stiff on left turns. If you slow down a bit and take a hard left he’ll fall down,” Bruce explains and Joker seems to consider it before groaning and slowing down just enough for Tim and Dick to get a bit closer before flying into a sharp left turn.

As Bruce had predicted it takes Tim by surprise, and his bike can’t quite follow the sudden motion. Harley whoops and punches Bruce’s shoulder with a bright grin on her face.

“Look who’s not just a pretty face,” she says and leans over to kiss Bruce’s cheek. Joker shoves her back to her seat before she can do anything else, and reaches to get something from under his seat. To Bruce’s horror he pulls out a grenade, and before Bruce can say anything he opens the window and throws it straight on Dick’s path.

Bruce turns to see the grenade go off but he can’t tell if Dick was far enough from it to be unharmed. Harley laughs and claps her hands before sticking her head out of the window again. Bruce tries to see if Dick is okay but the car is already too far away and he can’t see what happened.

“If he knows how to dodge he’s alive,” Joker’s voice comes from Bruce’s right, and though he still sounds angry there’s a hint of reassurance in his voice too. Bruce nods and closes his eyes as he sits back in his seat and leans his head on the cool window. He wants to go home to his family.

“That was fun,” Harley laughs and Bruce can feel her eyes on him.

She doesn’t speak again and Joker drives them close to Dixon Docks before ordering everybody out of the car, and Harley hurries to Bruce’s side before he can take two steps from the car. Bruce isn’t sure what she’s up to, and he’s more curious as to why Joker is emptying the car of his things, mostly weapons and his coat, before he shoves a rag into the fuel tank and sets it on fire.

Harley pulls Bruce away from the car and drags him along as she hurries after Joker, and behind them the car explodes and all the evidence of them being there gets eaten away by flames.

Joker leads them through the dockyard and to an empty warehouse. He flips the lights on and takes a deep breath before turning his furious gaze to Bruce and Harley. Bruce almost shields Harley with his body when she lets out a soft whimper and shrinks, but then she’s stepping away from Bruce and glancing between him and Joker with wide eyes. Bruce realizes she’s not scared because Joker is angry with her, she’s scared because Joker is angry with him.

Bruce swallows around the lump in his throat and meets Joker’s eyes. He never expected to see Joker look at him with that sweet smile that’s too much teeth to not be downright creepy and nothing but too intelligent coldness in his eyes. Suddenly Bruce misses the hints of warmth and affection in Joker’s eyes he hadn’t even realized were there most of the time.

Joker wags his fingers slowly and tuts, shaking his head minutely as he stares Bruce down without blinking. A chill runs down Bruce’s spine as he bites down the fear and betrayal building inside him, refusing to budge in the face of Joker’s wrath. He’s not sure it matters as Joker takes a step towards him and pulls himself impossibly tall, and though Bruce is almost a head taller than him feel like he’s looking up to Joker’s eyes.

Joker is going to kill him.

“You,” Joker starts with a dangerously honeyed voice and points at Bruce. “Do not tell me what to do.” He waits for Bruce to be lulled into a sense of safety at his sweet smile and friendly voice and argue, but Bruce is too busy trying not to feel stupid for letting himself believe Joker actually felt something for him.

“This is high school, okay?” Joker continues when Bruce doesn’t say anything. “I’m the cool kid. I’m the fucking Prom Queen and you’re going to crawl on the ground and beg me to notice you.”

Bruce stares at Joker and takes in the malice in his smile and the cold gleam in his eyes, and the way he carries himself. He can’t help but feel betrayed, and he accepts the fact that Joker has only shown him what he wanted Bruce to see and he’d fallen for it. Bruce been so desperate to believe Joker had it in him to be genuinely nice he’d ignored the years of knowing him that told a different story.

The realization that he’d been played for Joker’s amusement hits Bruce hard, but instead of anger he feels numb. Joker might have just killed Dick, like he did with Jason, and Bruce can’t bring himself to be angry.

Bruce nods once, slow, and glances around the empty warehouse, spotting Harley pressed against the wall at a safe distance from Joker, trying to appear as small and unnoticeable as she can.

“I’m going home,” Bruce says in a voice he barely recognizes as his own and turns around. He takes mild pleasure in the incredulous noise Joker makes as he walks towards the exit. Every step he takes feels harder than the other, and when he hears the familiar click of Joker’s favorite revolver he’s almost relieved.

“You don’t walk away from me,” Joker growls and Bruce stops. He tells himself to let it go and just leave, but he’s probably going to die anyway so he might as well let Joker know just how much he’d hurt him.

So Bruce turns around and lets the betrayal and hurt show on his face. He meets Joker’s furious eyes, ignoring the gun, and twists his mouth into a sardonic smirk. “Don’t tell me what to do,” he mocks and takes a second to revel in the way Joker’s face falls before walking away.

“Get back here before I kill you,” Joker orders and though Bruce doesn’t miss the way his voice cracks at the edges he keeps walking. He won’t waste what might be the last moments of his life giving in to Joker’s threats.

Bruce keeps waiting for the inevitable bang that will end his life but it doesn’t come. And even though he wants to turn around and go back to Joker and just ignore the fight and the way Joker has been toying with him ever since that night in that stupid bar Bruce won’t let Joker have what is left of his dignity.

“You don’t get to leave me!” Joker screams, unable to keep the desperation from his voice. It breaks Bruce’s heart but he strides to the door, waiting for the shot that never comes, and walks outside.

The cold breeze of the ocean hits his face and he gulps in a deep breath as the door slams shut behind him with finality. Bruce barely has the time to accept he’s still alive before Joker’s bloodcurdling scream rings in the air, and when the first bullet hits the door Bruce runs without looking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this a good time to say I probably won't be updating until next month?
> 
> btw the song Joker was singing is [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs8sXY6iKlA). Also this was originally supposed to have a more positive ending but it just didn't happen.
> 
> And as always I love to hear your thoughts :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna post this now so it won't bother me during the exams next week. Thank god for a sudden and horrible flu that kept me out of school this week and gave me the time to edit this.

Bruce goes home and says he was on a date like he’d told Tim. He apologizes to Alfred for not telling him and ignores Barbara’s demands to know which restaurant he was at and with whom he was there with. He doubts lying would do him any good at the moment.

“I’m sorry I didn’t pick up. I put my phone on mute, I thought it would help me to actually stay on the date instead of waiting to hear from you.” Bruce knows it’s a poor excuse but it’s closest to the truth he has.

“You’re sorry? Tim is hurt and Dick is in the hospital but you’re sorry so it’s fine?” Barbara’s angry voice rings in the cave, and Bruce is suddenly very happy she’s speaking through the comms rather than being actually there. He doesn’t answer, he wouldn’t even know what to say, and fighting with Barbara when she’s just worried about her friends isn’t something he’ll lower himself to.

“I think we’ve established he’s sorry,” Alfred says and Bruce glares at him briefly before he can stop himself. Alfred ignores him, too used to Bruce’s behavior to take it personally.

“I hope your date was worth it,” Barbara mutters over the comm line. Bruce breathes in, deep and slow, and grits his teeth, reminding himself it’s not him she’s mad at.

“Perhaps we should resume this when everyone is present,” Alfred suggests, taking pity on Bruce.

“I’ll check on Dick,” Barbara sighs and disconnects the comm line, leaving Bruce alone with Alfred. Bruce doesn’t meet Alfred’s eyes out of fear of seeing disappointment in them. Instead he stares at his feet, trying not to fidget, and waits for Alfred to scold him.

“So. How was your date?” Alfred asks and his voice holds nothing but polite curiosity. Bruce risks a glance at him, and to his surprise Alfred is looking at him with a kind smile on his lips. Bruce entertains the idea of telling the truth, but after the night they’ve had he doesn’t want to burden Alfred anymore.

“It was fine. We didn’t really click but it was fine.” It’s not exactly a lie. The first part of the night had been great, it’s the second part he doesn’t want to think about. Ever.

“You could’ve told me you met someone,” Alfred says and Bruce smirks mirthlessly at the disappointment in his voice.

“I just wanted to see if it would work out before telling anyone,” Bruce says and tries to smile. Alfred nods and lets it go, he knows Bruce well enough to see when he doesn’t want to talk.

“I’ll check on Tim and head to bed then.” Alfred gives Bruce a nod as he walks past him, and Bruce waits until he’s out of sight before leaving the cave as well.

Bruce considers himself lucky for getting away with just Barbara yelling at him over the comms and Alfred letting her go at it. He gets it, Joker isn’t Barbara’s favorite subject on the best days, so Bruce can’t blame her for being upset when Joker injures both Tim and Dick in one go while Bruce was nowhere to be found.

Tim’s bruised and he’s got a few cracked bones, but Bruce knows it could’ve been a lot worse. It’s Dick Bruce is worried about. He hadn’t got the chance to ask how badly he was hurt, though Alfred had mentioned he’ll be out of the hospital in a day or two.

Bruce wanders around the manor, taking the long route to his bedroom, and thinks of anything but the evening. He gets a couple of drinks to calm his nerves as he passes through the study, and when he finally gets to his bedroom he strips his suit onto the floor without bothering to hang it up and falls on the bed and resists the urge to scream into a pillow.

He can’t keep his mind from drifting to his fight with Joker when there’s nothing to keep him distracted. Bruce isn’t sure which is worse, the fact that he’s probably destroyed any chance for a relationship with Joker or the fact that Joker is almost definitely going to kill him and his family as revenge.

Bruce groans and rolls onto his back. He should let it end there. He shouldn’t want to call Joker and apologize for leaving. It wouldn’t have been so bad to stay, he could’ve waited for Joker to calm down and try talk it out with him, but Bruce had to let his emotions get the best of him and ruined everything.

Bruce doesn’t get much sleep that night and he’s less than happy during the following day. Tim is well enough to limp to the kitchen come lunch time, and his only comment about the night before is that they’ll need to fix the stiffness issue on his bike as soon as they can. Bruce gives him a humorless smile and promises to get right to it, ignoring how his insides clench at the sight of Tim’s bruised face and the way he carries himself as he tries not to cause anymore injury to himself.

Dick gets out of the hospital the next morning, and he brings Barbara with him to the manor. Dick hops after her on his crutches, telling Bruce his leg isn’t really broken, the bone is just slightly cracked and he needs to stay off it for a few weeks. He’s got some burn marks but, as Dick puts it, he’s great at dodging so the grenade hadn’t actually hit him.

Bruce doesn’t bother saying they had got off easy.

“Give me a few days to recover and I’ll help with Harley,” Tim says when he corners Bruce in the library where he’s most definitely not hiding. Bruce isn’t surprised to see Alfred, Barbara and Dick hovering behind him.

“You’re going to Bludhaven with Dick,” Bruce replies, and the wave of protest he receives doesn’t surprise him, if anything he expected it.

“So they screw up once and you banish them?” Barbara snarks and crosses her arms, and Bruce almost smiles. She never lets him get away with anything.

“No. I want them safe while they recover,” Bruce corrects her and goes back to looking through the books, trying to find something he hasn’t read yet.

“Look, we didn’t know Harley would be working with Joker. We thought they broke up,” Dick says and hops closer to Bruce. Tim and Barbara follow him, and soon Bruce is cornered against the bookshelf.

Bruce tries not to look annoyed and rather than answer he looks to Alfred for support. Alfred does one of his not quite shrugs and places his tray on the table, and starts to arrange the coffee serving he’s put together.

“It doesn’t matter what you thought. What matters is that you’ve pissed him off and I want you out of the way while I deal with it,” Bruce says and steps past Tim as he makes his way to Alfred.

“We can take care of ourselves,” Tim points out, and Dick makes an agreeing noise.

“Just do what I say.” Bruce turns to look at the trio and crosses his arms. Alfred sets a cup of coffee next to him and Bruce pretends he doesn’t see the way Alfred raises his eyebrow.

“No.” Barbara meets Bruce’s eyes without blinking. “You’ve been shielding Tim ever since he joined us and now you’re doing the same with Dick, so you’re going to give us a good reason for it.”

Bruce’s eyes shift from Barbara to Dick and Tim, and he even glances at Alfred briefly before sighing in defeat and sitting on the closest armchair with his coffee. He doesn’t have to look up to know everyone is staring at him. Bruce would rather not answer Barbara. He doesn’t know where to begin explaining everything.

“Bruce,” Barbara’s soft voice gets Bruce to look up, and he offers her a small smile as an apology. He figures he doesn’t really have a choice anymore, and they deserve to know the truth. So Bruce takes a deep breath and steels himself for his family’s reactions.

“I made a deal with Joker after Tim joined up,” Bruce admits, and going by the dumbfounded looks he’s receiving no one expected that. “He was in Arkham and I went to see him, and we agreed that he wouldn’t come near any of you if I would be the only one to go after him.”

The silence that follows is shocked and oppressive, and Bruce keeps his eyes firmly on the coffee cup in his hands.

“You made a deal with Joker?” Dick asks slowly, his voice carefully void of emotion. “After what he did to Barbara? To Jason?”

“I was trying to keep you safe,” Bruce snaps before he can stop himself.

“We don’t need you to protect us,” Dick counters, and Barbara nods as she crosses her arms.

“I wasn’t going to put Tim out there and have Joker go ballistic on him too. I get that you’re offended but I did the only thing I could do to keep him safe. And you going after him when he thinks that won’t happen just pisses him off even more.” Bruce stands up without realizing what he’s doing, and Dick stands up straighter, rising to the challenge like he always does.

“Tim isn’t Jason.”

“I know that. Jason had more experience and street smarts and Joker still got him. Tim doesn’t stand a chance,” Bruce argues and he knows he’s right, he knows it, and if Dick would just stop to think he’d see it too.

“I’m right here!” Tim spreads his arms and scowls at Bruce and Dick, but Bruce ignores him in favor of glaring Dick down.

“You don’t get to shut us out and make decisions for us!” Dick steps into Bruce’s space, refusing to back down, and he looks almost more hurt than angry. 

“Stop fighting, both of you.” Barbara’s voice cuts through the air and draws everyone’s eyes to her. She’s doing the best she can to hide how distraught she is, but Bruce knows her and he knows she hates to see them fight. He glances at Dick and takes a step back, and Dick follows his example.

Dick leaves the room with a goodbye to Alfred, and after a few seconds of disappointed frowning at Bruce Barbara follows Dick, leaving Bruce alone with Tim and Alfred. Bruce slumps back to his chair and rubs his temples to ward off the headache growing behind his eyes. He hears Alfred place a plate next to him but he doesn’t open his eyes or thank him.

Everything is spinning out of control and Bruce doesn’t know what to do.

Bruce expects Tim to walk out too, but to his surprise Tim sits down with his own cup of coffee and waits patiently until Bruce opens his eyes. Tim has his serious face on, and Bruce readies himself for another round of fighting.

“Just… Explain why you thought making a deal with Joker of all people was a good idea,” Tim says, and when Alfred sits down too Bruce figures he doesn’t have much choice, and it’s not like he can make things worse than they already are.

“I never asked why he killed Jason until you came along. I needed to know what I did wrong so it wouldn’t happen with you,” Bruce starts and takes a sip of his coffee to buy himself some time.

“He said he didn’t want anyone else ‘playing our game’ and he’d kill anyone who tried. So I promised him I’d never bring you when I go after him if he would stay away from you.” Bruce meets Tim’s eyes and waits for his to say something.

“But Joker didn’t mind Dick being around,” Tim points out, and Bruce laughs, partly because he can’t believe he’s arguing if Tim should be allowed near Joker, and partly because Tim is actually trying to understand this thing between Batman and Joker.

“I think that the more we fought the more obsessed he got and it got to the point where he couldn’t handle having a Robin around,” Bruce explains and shakes his head ruefully as he looks down to the cup in his hands.

“Okay,” Tim says after a minute and gets up. Bruce looks at him, curious despite his anxiety. “I’m gonna go back to school for a few weeks and you deal with your clown,” he continues and says his goodbyes to both Alfred and Bruce, and steals one last cookie from Alfred’s serving plate before leaving the library.

“Are you going to go off on me too?” Bruce asks and turns his attention to Alfred.

“I think you’ve had enough for one day,” Alfred replies and offers Bruce a smile, and nudges the plate of cookies closer to him. Bruce takes the hint and picks a cookie up.

“I reserve the right to ream you the next time we’ll be having a yelling contest,” Alfred says as he gets up. Bruce watches him leave, happy he’s finally alone to wallow in his thoughts.

* * *

 

 

Dick calms down a few days later and Barbara is back to helping Bruce with tech support a week later, and Tim keeps pestering Bruce for a chance to come back on patrol despite his still healing injuries. Bruce would love to have him back but Joker hasn’t shown his face and it worries Bruce. Joker is probably mad at both Bruce and Batman, and Bruce’s worry over it makes it nearly impossible for him to sleep. He keeps waiting for Joker to come for Alfred and his kids or set Gotham on fire just to spite Batman.

After three weeks of not hearing from Joker Bruce’s anxiety is slowly driving him insane, and he has to leave Wayne Enterprises as soon as he’s done with the monthly board meeting. He keeps fiddling with his phone, trying to convince himself he doesn’t want to call Joker, that it’s not worth it. Joker would’ve contacted him already if he wanted to.

Bruce gets into his car but he doesn’t start the engine immediately. He needs a moment to breathe and the car is blissfully silent and still. Bruce counts to ten over and over again, trying to get his thoughts under his control. He closes his eyes to eliminate all possible distractions, and breathes, slow and steady, as his mind slowly calms down.

After a minute or so Bruce opens his eyes and sighs, and he’s about to start the car when the passenger side door opens and Harley gets in. She shuts the door and adjusts her large sunglasses before digging through the glove department and taking a look around the car all the while Bruce stares at her in bewilderment.

“Can I keep this?” Harley asks and motions around the car as she finally turns her focus on Bruce, and even with the sunglasses on she gives the impression of batting her eyes.

“No,” Bruce replies and furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “What do you want?” He asks and tells himself to remain calm. Harley pouts and crosses her arms, and Bruce takes note of the bandage around her wrist.

“No foreplay?” She makes a show of seeming sad, but when Bruce doesn’t react to it at all she sighs dramatically and takes on a more serious attitude.

“I want you to fix Mistah J,” she states. Bruce can’t stop the dry laugh escaping his lips, and Harley frowns at him.

“I’m not going anywhere near him,” he says, serious and final, and waits for Harley to accept his word and get out of his car.

“You broke it you bought it,” Harley counters and points at Bruce when he opens his mouth to argue. “You hurt him.”

“I hurt him?” Bruce can’t keep the incredulousness out of his voice. “He pulled a gun on me.”

“Boo hoo, get over it. It’s not like he shot you,” Harley says and shakes her head as she pulls out her phone.

“I don’t care. I’m not going to let him walk all over me,” Bruce shuts up fast, but the unsaid  _ like you do  _ still hangs in the air. Harley’s face hardens and Bruce almost apologizes but he can’t get the words out.

“Then be butt hurt all you want but just remember it’ll be your fault when he gets over the ‘woe is me’ phase and goes into the ‘I’ll destroy everything he’s ever loved’ phase,” Harley says and looks up from her phone. “Or get over your pride and go back to him while he doesn’t want to skin you alive.”

Bruce doesn’t want to admit he’d been thinking along the same lines, but he’s not sure he can face Joker again. Harley studies him for a few seconds longer before sighing and looking around the car like it could give her what she needs.

“Look, I get it. He can be a bit scary sometimes but he’s really nice too you know? You just gotta give him a chance to trust you. He won’t hurt you if you go back now,” she says and takes her sunglasses off, letting Bruce see the fading black eye she has, and Bruce almost winces in sympathy.

“Why do you want me to go back to him anyways?” Bruce asks and levels Harley with a piercing stare.

“I like to play cupid and you two are cute together,” she replies easily and smiles, and Bruce frowns at her. He’s not interested in her games.

“Tell me the truth and I’ll consider seeing him again,” he offers and Harley scrunches her nose as she thinks it over. In the end her shoulders slump and her expression morphs into something more serious.

“I want out,” she replies quietly and offers Bruce a sad smile. “I wanna go home to Red but if you don’t go back to him he won’t let me go and I can’t do what you did. I can’t just walk away.” She blinks rapidly and looks away before fixing a smile on her face and turning back to Bruce, hiding her pain like she always does.

“So do your bestie a favor and help her get away from your asshole boyfriend,” she says and gives Bruce her cutest smile. Bruce hesitates for a second and Harley leans her jaw on his shoulder.

“I literally took a punch for you. And got a busted wrist. And an ankle. I can’t wear my heels. That’s how amazing friend I am,” she continues.

“You think I can survive him?” Bruce asks, his voice more quiet than he intended, and Harley’s eyes soften.

“Sure. You’ve got balls,” she replies and gets a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Feel your balls Bruce,” she says, leaning closer to him and staring at him with wide unblinking eyes. Bruce can’t help it, he cracks up and laughs until his stomach hurts.

“I’m not going to do that,” Bruce manages and Harley grins brightly.

“You gonna go see him?” Harley asks hopefully and Bruce gives up and nods. Harley whoops in joy and claps her hands, mindful of her injured wrist, and settles into her seat.

“Tomorrow. I’ll have more time then,” Bruce promises and it’s good enough for Harley.

“Can you drop me off at Starbucks? I feel like getting a latte.” She grins and puts her sunglasses back on, and Bruce rolls his eyes even as he starts the car and drives off. Bruce doesn’t let himself think what he’s doing. He wants to see Joker, he’s not denying that, but if he lets himself stop and think he’ll talk himself out of it.

Harley is unusually quiet during the drive, and Bruce wonders what she’s thinking. He doesn’t ask, figuring she’ll talk to him if she wants to. Bruce parks the car near Starbucks five minutes later but instead of getting out Harley turns to face him.

“Tell him I told you to come. That way you get to keep pretending you’re not crawling back to him because you’re hopelessly in love,” she says and gives Bruce an encouraging smile before waving her good hand as a goodbye and hopping out of the car. Bruce takes a moment to watch her go before taking a deep breath and driving off.

Bruce goes home since there’s no point in staying in the city, and he needs a chance to get his bearings if he’s going to see Joker. His lungs seize up at the mere idea, though he doesn’t know if it’s because of excitement or fear. He’ll have to trust Harley’s expertise in fighting with Joker and take her word that it’s safe for him to go back to him, even if he’s not looking forward to finding out what Joker’s jilted lover act will be like when it comes to Bruce Wayne.

Bruce tells Alfred he’ll be staying home that night, and though Alfred gives him a curious look Bruce doesn’t explain himself further. He says he won’t be going on patrol unless something absolutely requires his attention, and disappears into the library. He’s not hiding from anyone, he just needs a moment to breathe and get himself ready to face Joker.

Bruce stays out of sight until he thinks he can justifiably go to sleep. Alfred doesn’t comment on it and though Tim looks curious he follows Alfred’s lead and stays silent. Bruce almost thanks them for it.

He’s not tired but he doesn’t know what else to do anymore so Bruce shrugs his clothes off and climbs into his bed, and if he’s lucky he’ll get a few hours of sleep before sunrise. Bruce can’t empty his mind, and it takes him a few hours of tossing and wandering around the room before falling into a light, uneasy slumber.

He’s jolted awake by Alfred a few hours later. Bruce squints his eyes against the lights and lets his annoyance shine on his face, but one look of Alfred’s barely concealed worry and fear are enough to get Bruce up in a second.

“What happened?” Bruce asks, and Alfred’s reluctance to answer makes Bruce cold.

“Well, Master Tim insisted on following a lead on one of his cases,” Alfred starts and gives the impression of fidgeting without actually moving. “We can’t seem to reach him anymore,” he finishes and lowers his eyes.

Bruce can’t get a word out for a second, but then he dashes across the room and heads into the batcave without waiting to see if Alfred’s following him. He’s in his batsuit and driving through the streets to reach Tim’s last known location in minutes. Barbara’s carefully collected voice tells him everything she knows about the situation, and it’s not much.

Tim had been working on a very basic case involving a gang and some stolen goods, and it was supposed to be something he could do in his sleep. Even Bruce admits it, and he knows he can get a bit overprotective at times. Barbara says they’d been very careful to make sure no one knew Tim was coming, and he was supposed to return home as soon as he’d checked the lead.

“He said he was going to the top floor,” Barbara informs Bruce when he parks in front of an apartment building that, according to Barbara, is empty due to renovations. Bruce thanks her and makes his way to the front door.

The first thing Bruce notices is the eerie silence in the building. He can barely hear the sounds coming from outside and the air presses against him, almost like the building is trying to push him out. Bruce shakes the feeling off and makes his way up the stairs, quiet and cautious, and keeps an eye for any dangers and wishing for a sound to break the silence.

Bruce gets to the top floor without seeing or hearing anything, but he can smell the familiar metallic stench of blood in the air. His breath catches in his throat and he can’t hear anything but his heartbeat loud in his ears, and he hurries to the room where the smell is coming from, praying Tim was never there.

Bruce does a cursory check of his surroundings before pushing open the door leading to the apartment where the smell is coming form. The door opens easily and Bruce steps into the room, and his first thought is gross overkill.

There’s blood splatter everywhere, even in the ceiling, and Tim’s now dead gang of young criminals is scattered across the floor along with every piece of furniture in the apartment. Except for the dining table placed right in the middle of the carnage.

Bruce stops breathing when he sees the knife stuck on the table. He’d recognize it anywhere, it’s Joker’s favorite. It’s the one he’s had since the very first day he showed up in Gotham and he’d never part with it willingly. At least not until that day. And it’s been driven through a small bird.

A robin.

The room tilts and Bruce barely manages to keep his balance as he stumbles to the table. He can’t breathe. It’s Jason all over again and Bruce can’t go through that. Not with Tim. Not after everything that’s happened with Joker.

“ _ Bruce _ ,” Barbara snaps into his ear and Bruce is yanked back to reality. She must have tried to get through to him for some time.

”I’m here,” Bruce assures and his voice sounds strange in his ears.

“Did you find Tim?” Barbara sounds hopeful and scared, and Bruce has to close his eyes and take a few deep, steadying breaths.

“Joker has him.”

* * *

 

 

Dick moves back to the manor for the time being and Barbara pushes herself until she falls asleep on her keyboard, and Alfred takes over for her even though he has barely slept since Tim disappeared. Bruce doesn’t rest, he barely has the sense to eat something.

He goes through Gotham’s underworld, making sure that everyone knows who he’s hunting for and hoping it will draw Joker out before he hurts Tim. Bruce isn’t even considering the possibility that Tim might not be alive. He’s not going there. Tim will be fine.

“You need to sleep,” Dick tells Bruce once he gets back home after the sun has already risen. Bruce ignores him in favor of picking the next place to tear down.

“You’re going to get yourself killed,” Dick continues. “Tim too.” That catches Bruce’s attention and he stops with his fingers hovering over the keyboard. He could sleep, just for a few hours while Dick and Alfred figure out where he should go next. He could at least lie down for a moment and recharge.

“Okay,” he agrees, his voice barely above a whisper, and takes comfort in the relieved smile that spreads on Dick’s face.

Bruce gets out of the batsuit for what feels like the first time in weeks, and trudges to his bed despite his mind screaming at him to get back to the cave and track Joker down. Bruce tries to calm his mind as he falls on his bed, but it’s just not happening. He punches a pillow and pushes himself up, going through all the ways he usually relaxes enough to at least fall into a light slumber, but nothing feels like it would be worth even trying.

Bruce swallows around the lump in his throat and picks his phone up, and after a moment of hesitation he selects Joker’s number and hits dial. He gets nothing but an automated voice saying the number cannot be reached, just like he knew he would. It’s all he’s gotten in the five days Tim has been missing and Bruce has tried to call Joker.

He doesn’t know if Joker has just turned his phone off or got rid of it all together, but Bruce keeps calling him and sending him messages anyways. He’s not sure if he does it because he wants Joker away from Tim and it’s the best plan he has, or because he genuinely wants to see Joker again.

Bruce tries not to blame himself, but he can’t help but wonder if Tim would be safe if he’d stayed with Joker. He can’t help but wonder if Tim would be safe if he’d just gone on patrol that night instead of worrying about his love life.

Bruce run his hands through his hair and wishes for the crushing pressure in his body to just go away or break him. Nothing happens though, and Bruce keeps feeling like he’s hollow and too full with everything to breathe. He waits for a minute longer before sending Joker a text letting him know he had tried to call.

He doubts it works or that Joker even reads his texts, but it makes Bruce feel better so he keeps doing it. At least he can tell himself he’d tried.

It takes over an hour but eventually Bruce falls into a fitful sleep. It’s better than nothing, and when he gives up on trying to get proper sleep four hours later he feels a little better. Bruce even eats the toast Alfred offers him before returning his attention to tracking Joker down.

He spends the day staring at maps, trying to figure out where Joker could have hidden Tim, and he pulls the batsuit on as soon as the sun sets. Alfred and Dick force him to eat before he leaves and though the food tastes like ash in his mouth he forces it down to keep what remains of his family happy.

Then he’s on the streets and beating a member of Joker’s crew to a pulp. The man swears he knows nothing and Bruce believes him, but sending him to a hospital makes Bruce feel a little better and he can’t find it in him to feel sorry for a career criminal at that moment, especially if it’ll get Joker’s attention.

It’s stupid and childish and when Gordon sees Bruce he only tells him to stop and think of what he’s doing. Bruce doesn’t stay to hear if he has any other advice to spare. He doesn’t know if Gordon knows Joker has Tim. He hasn’t told him, figuring Gordon would make things worse if he launched a search for Joker too, but Barbara might have mentioned something.

“I got something in the Amusement Mile,” Barbara says a few hours later and Bruce gets into the car and flies through the streets without further prompting. Barbara guides him to a secluded spot right at the edge of the zoo’s CCTV where she had seen someone drop a suspicious box in the bushes.

“I know it isn’t much but it’s all I have,” she says, sounding apologetic.

“It’s better than nothing,” Bruce replies and hopes it’s not just someone littering, but the Amusement Mile is Joker’s territory so anything strange happening there is worth checking out.

Bruce finds the box easily enough, and when he sees it his heart beats faster and he feels almost excited. It’s a purple gift box with a huge green bow on top of it with a card stuck to it.

Bruce picks the card up and sure enough it reads  _ To Batsy _ as he’d suspected. Bruce hesitates only for a second before pulling the lid off the box and peering inside. He recognizes Tim’s cape immediately and though his hands are shaking he stays calm.

Bruce packs the box into his car without looking if there’s anything else in it. He tells Barbara what he found in the box and that he’s heading back home. She falls silent for a long moment before letting out a shaky breath and promising she’ll let Dick and Alfred know, and that she’ll be there if they need her.

The drive back to the manor takes forever, and when he enters the cave Alfred and Dick are waiting for him with solemn expressions on their faces. They follow Bruce silently when he gets out of the car with the box and takes it to a table.

Dick hops to a chair while Alfred comes to stand next to Bruce, ready to offer his assistance if needed. The cave is silent when Bruce opens the box and pulls out Tim’s cape. Alfred takes in a sharp breath but doesn’t react otherwise, and Dick’s face hardens.

Nobody says anything about the dried blood on the cape, though Bruce tells himself it could be from the gang members Joker had killed rather than Tim. Bruce hands the cape to Alfred without a word and takes out the envelope at the bottom of the box.

Bruce almost expects to see a picture of Tim dead, but the only thing in the envelop is a generic postcard with an address and a date and a time written on it.

“What are you going to do?” Dick asks, bringing Bruce back to the moment.

“I’ll go see what this is about,” Bruce replies, his eyes still glued to the card and Joker’s unusually elegant handwriting.

“You might wanna pull yourself together in the meantime,” Dick says and tries to smile. Bruce drops the card and pulls his cowl off, figuring it might be smart to follow Dick’s advice. He won’t be able to deal with Joker if he’s tired and hungry, no matter how much he’d like to pretend otherwise.

“Maybe take a shower?” Dick raises an eyebrow and gets up. “Unless you want him to smell you three blogs away instead of the usual two,” he jokes as he picks his crutches up and hops away.

Bruce sighs and hangs his head, wondering if it’s worth the trouble to go back out. He hasn’t been able to find Joker in the five days he’s had Tim, and he doubts that would change. He should take the two days he has to rest up and pull himself together. He’d have a better chance to keep up with Joker that way. Joker would have a less of a chance to play him like he pleases.

“I set the blood analysis running,” Alfred says, his voice stiff as he tries to hide his worry. Bruce nods and waits for Alfred to continue but he walks away, leaving Bruce alone with his thoughts.

Two days suddenly seems like an eternity and Bruce doesn’t know if he can wait that long to find out if Tim is alive. Two days is too soon to hear Tim is dead.

Bruce takes a deep breath to shake off the tension threatening to crush him and heads back out. He can rest when the sun rises.

 

* * *

 

 

Two days later, exactly one hour after sunset, Bruce makes his way to a penthouse in Chinatown that serves as a safe house for the rogues. It’s a strange place for a meeting and Bruce has his guard up, unsure of what to expect.

Spotting Joker on the terrace is too easy, but Bruce doesn’t give up on the chance to slam himself into his back. Joker hits the ground hard and Bruce doesn’t give him the chance to recover before yanking him to his back and driving his fist into his face.

Joker groans and spits out blood before he starts laughing, maniacal and delighted at the greeting he got. Bruce growls and pulls his arm back, ready to strike again, but Joker holds his hands in front of his face.

“You can beat me up all you want but then your kiddo’s gonna starve to death and it’ll be your fault,” Joker says, stopping Bruce in his tracks. Joker frowns and looks away before tilting his head thoughtfully.

“Well, he’s gonna die of dehydration since you need water more than food. I hear it’s a peaceful way to go if it’s any consolation.” He looks back up and grins, and Bruce almost hits him again.

It’s not easy but Bruce pulls himself away from Joker and lets him get up from the ground. He tells himself to think of Tim while Joker lights a cigarette and smooths his clothes down.

Neither one of them say anything for a while. Bruce keeps an eye on Joker, watching him for any signs of danger, and forces the warmth Joker’s presence brings him down in favor of being angry at him.

Joker smokes his cigarette in peace as he goes to lean on the railing, ignoring Bruce’s quiet distress. Bruce takes the opportunity to decide on a course of action and comes to grips with the fact that he’ll have to play by Joker’s rules if he wants Tim back. He needs to believe Joker isn’t lying about Tim being alive.

And it’s  not like Joker to lie to Batman, not directly anyways. He bends the truth and leaves things out, but he’s never told an outright lie, even if it sometimes seems like it. So if he says Tim is alive Bruce is going to trust him on it.

“How long does he have?” Bruce asks after a minute of loaded silence.

“Couple of days,” Joker replies, sounding more like he’s talking about the weather than somebody’s life. Bruce breathes a little easier after that, and he focuses on keeping his anger at bay so he can get Tim safely home.

“What do you want?” Bruce continues, wanting to get this over as soon as possible. Joker turns to him with a disappointed look on his face.

“No foreplay?” He pouts and makes a show of seeming unhappy, but when Bruce doesn’t react to it he drops the pretense. But he doesn’t smile. He hasn’t smiled once since getting up from the ground and it’s sending chills down Bruce’s spine.

Bruce doesn’t answer. He’s not sure if he could say what Joker wants to hear and he’s not going to risk upsetting him further. Joker doesn’t scoff though he gives off the impression of doing so, and Bruce worries he’s done something wrong already.

“I wanna know why I’m the only one keeping their promises around here,” Joker says suddenly, catching Bruce off guard. He almost wraps his cape around himself as protection as he takes a cautious step towards Joker.

“I didn’t break any promises,” Bruce says and he knows it was the wrong thing to say even before Joker’s face twists in rage.

“You set those little shits after me,” Joker growls and steps closer to Bruce. “You broke our deal! I didn’t do that. I didn’t do anything wrong.” Joker stops abruptly and Bruce gets the feeling there’s something he’s not saying.

“They were after Harley not you,” Bruce says, pretending he didn’t notice the sudden stop.

“I don’t care!” Joker shouts before catching himself. He pulls back, letting out a shrill laugh and grinning too widely.

Bruce stills, waiting for Joker to do something, but he doesn’t move or say anything. It makes Bruce uncomfortable and he’s not sure what to do, but he doubts waiting for Joker to get his bearings will do any good for him.

"Then tell me what you want from me,” Bruce says, slow and calm, and forces his shoulders to relax.

“What do I want?” Joker laughs and it comes out hollow. “I want you to get on your knees and beg me to forgive you.” Bruce would do it if Joker would tell him to. If it will save Tim he’ll do it, but Joker isn’t looking at him like he really means it so Bruce stays still.

“Is Robin safe?” Bruce asks, knowing it’s stupid, but he has to know Tim is alive and in relative safety so that he can focus on Joker without his mind drifting to the possibility of Tim being in pain and dying as they speak. Joker’s face twists in barely controlled rage, but Bruce doesn’t let it affect him.

“Would you just let the bird go?” Joker counters, too sweet and a forced smile on his lips.

“I need to know he’s okay,” Bruce says. He tries not to worry about how dangerous it is to push the matter and focuses on appearing as collected as he can.

“He’s fine,” Joker retorts and turns his back on Bruce. The tension in his shoulders looks painful and Bruce can’t help but blame himself for it.

"What do you mean by you’re the only one keeping their promises?” Bruce asks, deciding the best thing he can do is to keep Joker talking and get to the bottom of his problem.

Joker tenses and lights another cigarette and Bruce wants to snatch it from him and tell him to stop, but it wouldn’t do any good so he stays still and watches as Joker drags the smoke into his lungs and exhales it out in a slow cloud. Bruce waits, trusting Joker to speak when he’s ready, even when he wants to push him to just tell him what’s wrong. Joker stays silent for a long time, the cigarette slowly burning itself out mostly forgotten in his hands, and there’s a sadness about him that breaks Bruce’s heart.

“Harley didn’t come back,” Joker starts and takes a deep breath. “She went out and she didn’t come back even though she said she would. And you let the birds after me.” Joker looks over his shoulder, his eyes lacking their usual light, and Bruce wants to pull him into his arms and never let go.

“That guy I was seeing?” Joker says softly, and Bruce stands a little straighter. “I don’t think he’s coming back either.”

Bruce bites his tongue to keep himself from saying Joker’s wrong, that if he’d check his phone he’d see a dozen messages from Bruce and if he’d just had his phone on he’d know how many times Bruce tried to call him. Because even though Bruce had first called Joker to help Tim he would have taken Joker back. He still would if Joker just asked.

“I don’t get it. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Joker says more to himself than to Bruce, and Bruce wonders if he’s supposed to be saying something.

“I did what he wanted me to do and he still left. I just don’t get it,” Joker continues before catching himself and letting out a mirthless laugh. He glances at Bruce from the corner of his eye and throws the cigarette over the railing, probably hitting some unsuspecting citizen on the head with it.

Bruce doesn’t know how to respond. He’s too shocked to come up with anything so he keeps quiet and stares at Joker with wide eyes, his surprise hidden by his cowl, as he’s forced to reevaluate their relationship once again.

“I’m getting tired of always being the one who has to compromise,” Joker says and turns his cold eyes to Bruce.

Bruce wants to fidget, feeling uncomfortable under Joker’s gaze, but he stays still and does his best to appear unaffected. He can always claim he’s worried about Tim if Joker starts questioning him.

“So you’re gonna have to give me a real good reason not to kill your kid,” Joker says, sounding far too casual for someone threatening someone’s life.

“And you getting your panties in a twist and hospitalizing me isn’t a good enough reason. And neither is you hating me forever,” Joker continues before Bruce can say anything.

“Why haven’t you killed him already?” Bruce counters even though it’s not smart, and he’s a little taken aback by the barely noticeable shift of Joker’s eyes. Then Joker scoffs and smiles, wide and unsettling, and spreads his arms.

“We wouldn’t be having this lovely little chat if I had now would we?” He asks and saunters up to Bruce. It’s an act and Bruce has never been more acutely aware of it, and he needs to know what Joker isn’t telling him.

“So keep in mind I do have the baby bird safely tucked away,” Joker says and raises an eyebrow before wrapping his arms around Bruce’s shoulders.

Bruce tenses, partly on an instinct of having Joker pressed up against him when he’s in his batsuit, partly because he wants to pull him closer and never let go. Bruce hadn’t realized how much he’d missed having Joker in his arms until now and he can’t even touch him. Bruce fists his hands and forces himself not to lean into Joker, and if it makes him seem like he doesn’t want to Joker to touch him then it’s a small victory.

Bruce stays still even when Joker pulls the cape around them both and presses his face in Bruce’s chest with a satisfied sigh. Bruce bites his tongue and breathes in the smell of blood and gunpowder and Gotham and Menthol’s and it’s so uniquely Joker it hurts. Bruce closes his eyes and tries not to hate himself, because that smell of blood clinging to Joker is most likely Tim’s blood and for a moment it’s hard for Bruce to care enough to be bothered by it.

The only thing that truly matters at that moment is that Bruce still loves Joker. Despite him nearly blowing Dick up and pulling a gun on Bruce and kidnapping Tim Bruce still loves him and it’s killing him. Bruce takes a deep breath and lets himself enjoy Joker’s closeness for a second more before pulling away without actually stepping back, but Joker gets the hint and looks up to him.

“What’s going on in that pointy eared head of yours?” Joker asks and tilts his head with an exaggeratedly interested look on his face.

“You’re supposed to trust me,” Bruce replies, hoping it’ll get Joker to talk to him. Joker rolls his eyes and pulls away from Bruce’s arms, and Bruce misses the warmth of his body the second it disappears.

“Well that’s a bit hard after you screwed me over,” Joker says and goes to lean on the railing. Bruce makes a point of not sighing and follows Joker, and after a moment of hesitation he follows Joker’s example and leans his elbows on the railing. Joker looks surprised for a second before schooling his features into an amused smile.

“If I’d known you were driving the car I’d never sent Nightwing or Robin after it,” Bruce says after a minute of silence. He gives Joker a moment to say something, but when he stays silent Bruce considers his options and, for Tim’s sake, decides to say something he doesn’t like to say to Joker, at least not as Batman.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce says as sincerely as he can, and turns to face Joker to make sure he knows he’s being serious. Joker trying not to show how surprised he is, and Bruce holds his gaze until Joker sighs and lets his shoulders slump.

“Don’t make me regret not killing the kid,” he groans but there’s no malice in his voice, and Bruce almost smiles. “And you still haven’t given me a reason to keep him alive,” Joker continues.

“Tell me what you want,” Bruce says, but this time he makes sure his voice sounds as friendly as he can manage.

“You know, if you hadn‘t let your birdies out of their cage I could be getting laid right now,” Joker says far too casually for Bruce’s liking, but the words make him stop. Joker keeps bringing Bruce Wayne up.

“You miss him,” Bruce states and and stares at Joker with dumbfounded eyes. Joker’s face twitches and he laughs as his eyes dart around the terrace, and Bruce gets an almost irresistible urge to make fun of him.

“Your goal should be to keep me from killing the kid,” Joker points out as he crosses his arms and pulls himself to his full height, trying to look as threatening as he can.

“And I don’t miss people,” Joker continues and Bruce can’t stop himself from laughing softly. Joker’s face falls and he gapes at Bruce for a moment before realizing what he’s doing.

”Are you laughing at me?” Joker asks, sounding indignant though he’s trying not to. Bruce looks at his feet and shakes his head minutely, too tired to care if Batman isn’t supposed to be making fun of Joker, and he definitely shouldn’t be laughing at his face, but Joker is making it too easy.

“I’m gonna kill the kid, you know that right? I’m gonna gut him and send him to you in tiny boxes over the course of the next year.” Joker gets up to Bruce’s space and jabs his finger on the bat symbol, and if he wasn’t threatening Tim and Bruce wasn’t wearing his batsuit he might call Joker adorable. As it is he keeps his opinions to himself and just looks at Joker, letting the warmth and affection wash over him for a moment before pulling back.

“Just call him,” Bruce says, hoping this is what he needs to fix to save Tim. He waits while Joker makes a series of faces and a vague noise that might mean disagreement.

“I’m don’t really believe in running after someone,” Joker says and frowns. “I just don’t do it.”

Bruce could argue that easily, all he’d have to do is remind Joker of all the times he’d gone after Harley or Batman and it would crush his statement, but Bruce decides to be nice for a change and grabs Joker’s coat instead. Joker protests when Bruce digs through his pockets for his phone, but he falls silent when Bruce lets go of him.

Bruce ignores the angry glare Joker throws at him in favor of looking at the phone in his hands. Joker tries to grab it but Bruce shoves him away and holds the black screen up to him. Joker doesn’t say anything, but he glares at Bruce, ready to bounce the second he has a chance.

“It’s not like he was gonna call me anyways,” Joker offers after a long silence. Bruce wants to smack him over the head, but he settles for tossing the phone back to him.

“Call him,” Bruce repeats more forcefully, and tries not to think of the absurdity of the situation.

“No,” Joker retorts and crosses his arms, but he doesn’t put the phone away.

“Why?” Bruce counters. Joker focuses on a spot above Bruce’s shoulder and chews his lip while he considers his answer.

“At least turn it on,” Bruce says when Joker doesn’t make any indication of speaking again. Joker fixes his eyes on Bruce, studying him closely for a moment before tilting his head and furrowing his brow.

“What’s in it for you?” He asks and Bruce has to admit it’s a good question. He can’t exactly say he wants Joker back, but as Bruce considers his options he figures a half truth is the best way to go.

“You were causing less trouble than usual,” he says, and it’s not a lie even if it’s not the whole truth either.

“You don’t like me anymore?” Joker pouts and feigns sadness to the best of his abilities.

“I’m trying to help you,” Bruce says, sounding far more patient than he feels, and Joker drops the act. He just stares at Bruce for a long moment before sighing dramatically and turning his phone on, and Bruce can see how little he wants to do it.

Bruce holds his breath while Joker unlocks the screen, hoping seeing all the messages he’d sent will make Joker happy and fearing his reaction at the same time. Joker shoots Bruce an annoyed look before focusing on his phone, and his expression goes from angry to confused to almost sad in a span of seconds before going completely blank.

Bruce waits, but Joker just continues to stare at the screen without moving and for a second Bruce worries he’s broken him. Then Joker taps the screen and scrolls through the messages quickly before abruptly shutting the phone off and shoving it into his pocket.

“The battery’s dying,” Joker says as an explanation and stares at Bruce, daring him to argue with him. Bruce doesn’t move or say anything, but he doesn’t miss the way Joker’s jaw clenches and his eyes won’t quite meet Bruce’s.

Then Joker walks across the terrace towards the doors, and Bruce is too surprised by it to do or say anything.

“You want your bird back or not?” Joker calls over his shoulder and Bruce hurries after him, moving as fast as he can without running.

Joker doesn’t slow down until he reaches the elevator. Bruce is unsure if stepping into it with him is the best idea, but he needs to get Tim back and Joker’s starting to look impatient so Bruce shrugs off the uneasy feeling and closes the gates after him.

“You got a car?” Joker asks when the elevator starts its slow journey to the ground floor.

“Parked a few blocks from here,” Bruce replies and Joker nods once. Bruce glances at him from the corner of his eye, trying to figure out the reason behind Joker’s grim expression.

Seeing the messages from Bruce should’ve made Joker happier, not more upset. He had acted like he wanted the relationship fixed and Bruce doesn’t understand why seeing it’s what Bruce wants too is suddenly a problem. Bruce wants to ask Joker about it but with the way he’s looking at that moment Bruce doubts any good would come out of it.

The elevator hits the ground floor and Joker marches out, leaving Bruce to hurry after him. Joker doesn’t slow down until he’s outside and safely in the shadows away from curious eyes where he stops and motions for Bruce to take the lead. Bruce doesn’t say he would’ve been more comfortable with Joker waiting there while he gets the car, nothing about Joker’s demeanor suggests it would be welcome and Bruce isn’t risking Tim’s life, not when he’s so close to getting him back.

They stick to the shadows while they make their way to where Bruce had parked his car three blocks away from the safe house. They get there without being spotted, and Bruce waits until Joker is in the car before driving off, the tires screeching in the night.

 

* * *

 

 

Joker guides them out of the city into an old, rundown factory that hasn’t been used in a decade.

Joker gets out of the car without waiting to see if Bruce is following him and marches into the factory, leaving Bruce to trail after him. Bruce keeps a safe distance in case Joker is trying to trick him, even as his heart hammers in his chest and he wants to run up to Joker and make him give Tim back.

The air is damp and Bruce can smell the mold and rot, and he hopes Tim hasn’t been breathing it in for long.

Joker makes his way through the maze of corridors and into a large, dusty hall Bruce suspects was once used for storage. As it is now there’s a few old, rusted containers and rotten boxes, and the holes on the roof have let rainwater in, leaving large pools of water on the cracked concrete floor.

Joker motions Bruce to stop and makes a brief detour to one of the rotting boxes. He digs out a set of keys and goes to one of the containers, and opens the padlocks keeping it locked. Bruce watches him with a bated breath, practically vibrating with anxiousness and anticipation.

Joker yanks on the latches and nothing happens. He tries again but the rusted metal won’t budge.

“Do you mind?” Joker turns to Bruce with a pleasant smile on his lips and waves at the door, and Bruce glances at him briefly before forcing the latches open. The doors open with a loud screech and Joker shoos Bruce away. Bruce doesn’t hesitate when he steps back and gives Joker the six feet of space he wants.

“Don’t move,” Joker orders and disappears into the container, and Bruce listens Joker humming some tune that gets drowned by a sound of something heavy being dragged across the metal.

Joker emerges, pulling a heavy looking old trunk after him, and Bruce forces himself to stay still even as a chill runs through his body. He watches as Joker trips the trunk to its side, and the muffled groan confirms what Bruce already knew. Joker ignores the noise and sits on the edge of the trunk, taking his time opening the padlocks keeping it close, and Bruce wants to tell him to hurry up, that the trunk is too small for Tim to be in and he’s hurting. He wants to take Tim and go home and forget all about this.

Joker gets the last lock open and the lid falls open with a thud, and Tim tumbles out of the trunk.

“See? Alive and in one piece,” Joker says and spreads his arms with a bright grin on his face.

All the tension gets knocked out of Bruce when he sees Tim, alive and well enough to dart his surprised eyes between him and Joker and offer Bruce a small nod as a hello, and if Joker hadn’t wrapped tape around his mouth he’d probably offer Bruce a smile. Joker has tied him in the most uncomfortable way possible to get him fit the trunk, and Bruce starts towards Tim, barely managing to stop himself from taking more than two steps.

Bruce’s eyes flick to Joker, and he takes in the calculating look in his eyes as he slowly takes another step towards Tim. Bruce keeps his eyes on Joker who’s still sitting on the trunk, too relaxed for Bruce’s comfort, and smiling politely. Bruce keeps his eyes locked on Joker’s until he’s kneeling in front of Tim, and though he’s not comfortable with it Bruce turns to look at Tim, leaving himself completely exposed if Joker decides to attack him.

Tim looks up to Bruce with so much gratitude and relief in his eyes Bruce almost pulls him into his arms but he can’t, not with Joker there watching his every move. Bruce won’t give him any more reasons to hate Tim, so Bruce focuses on getting him free instead.

Joker has tied Tim up into as small ball as he could, and Bruce almost flinches in sympathy at the strain Tim’s joints are under. There’s a rope going around Tim’s arms pulling them to his chest and his wrists are tied behind his back at an uncomfortable angle, and his knees are pressed against his chest while the rope around his ankles is pulling his feet back since the rope is tied to the one on his wrists. Joker has also wrapped a rope around Tim’s shoulders, and he’s tied another rope around Tim just because he could, sealing him in a small package with the ropes being just a bit too tight to be safe.

Bruce would cut the ropes to pieces in a second if he was sure it wouldn’t hurt Tim.

“One more thing,” Joker says before Bruce can start working Tim free. Tim tries not to look scared even as Joker leans closer to Bruce until their faces are just inches apart.

“I want my knife back,” Joker continues and offers Bruce a pleasant smile. Bruce nods and focuses on getting Tim untied. He ignores Joker when he gets up and walks away, figuring he’ll slip out while Bruce is busy.

It takes time but Bruce get’s Tim safely untied, and he cuts the tape off of his face before checking him for any injuries. As far as Bruce can tell Tim’s taken quite a beating and he could use rest and a big meal, but otherwise he seems okay.

“I’ll be fine,” Tim assures Bruce, his voice dry and too quiet, but he still forces a smile on his face and Bruce knows he means it.

“Can you sit?” Bruce asks and after a moment of consideration Tim nods. Bruce helps him up and makes sure he’s leaning on the trunk as comfortably as possible before glancing around the hall, and he has to take a second look when he spots Joker standing in the middle of the space with his back turned to them and his attention on something in his hands.

“Give me a second,” Bruce mutters and gets up, barely registering the nod Tim gives him. Bruce makes his way to Joker, cautious and unsure if it’s a good idea, and he keeps a safe distance when he reaches Joker. Bruce is a little surprised to see him on his phone but it’s definitely preferable to a weapon or an explosive.

“Didn’t the battery die?” Bruce asks. Joker’s eyes snap to him and he shoves the phone back into his pocket.

“I said about to die. Just made sure nobody important missed me,” Joker replies and turns to glance at Tim before focusing on Bruce.

“So. You gonna take the birdie home now or after you drop me off at Arkham?” He raises an eyebrow at Bruce and stuffs his hands in his pockets, and Bruce frowns behind his cowl.

“Go home,” he says and his voice betrays how tired he is. Joker makes a show of considering it before shaking his head.

“Nope. I wanna go to Arkham,” he says and Bruce almost laughs at the absurdity of it.

“I’m not taking you to Arkham just because you tell me to,” he replies and stops himself from crossing his arms.

“Why not?” Joker pouts and tilts his head, looking at Bruce like he’d just taken his favorite toy away.

“Because the last time you willingly went to Arkham you caused a week long hostage situation in there,” Bruce replies and takes a step towards Joker, annoyed with the argument.

“Please. I don’t do the same joke twice,” Joker scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Unless I can build on it,” he continues after a second and Bruce is kind of sad he can't see how unimpressed Bruce is.

“I’m just not feeling mentally very stable and I really think Arkham is the right place for me at this time,” Joker states and bats his eyes at Bruce, trying to look as cute as he can. Bruce barely resists the urge to roll his eyes, but he has to look away to hide the way his lips curl up.

Bruce catches Tim studying them quietly from his spot and the beginning of a smile on his face disappears. It’s been a long time since they’ve had an audience and Bruce is suddenly uncomfortable with Tim being there. Bruce isn’t sure when but at some point he’d begun to view Batman’s conversations and fights with Joker as private, something just for them to share, and Tim is invading in on something that’s none of his business.

“Go home,” Bruce repeats marches back to Tim, intending to take him home and get back to Joker when they’re alone again.

“You’ll have to walk,” Bruce says to Tim who nods, understanding right away it’s not a good idea to let Joker see Batman pick him up and carry him out. Bruce offers Tim his hand to help him get up when a high pitched sob rigs through the air, making them both freeze in their tracks.

Bruce turns around slowly, his eyes wide, and he barely keeps himself from gaping. Tim isn’t as successful, but Bruce doesn’t even think about telling him to close his mouth.

Joker has covered his mouth with his hand and he’s blinking back tears, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Bruce stares at him without knowing what to say. Joker has never done this before and Bruce has no idea how to react.

“Stop,” Bruce orders when he gets his voice back. Joker lets out an ear piercing wail and Bruce opens his mouth for a second before snapping it shut. He glances at Tim, who’s staring at him with wide eyes, looking confused and a little accusing, and Bruce wants to tell him he didn’t do anything wrong.

“You think I like being like this?” Joker sobs and presses his hands above his heart with the most hurt look Bruce has ever seen on his face.

“I was a good person before you showed up. I might’ve made some bad choices but I was a good person, okay? Then you had to mess me up. And you won’t even take responsibility for that! Why is everything always my fault?” Joker digs through his pockets for a handkerchief and shakes his head, and Bruce is at a loss of words.

“And now the one time I’m actually willing to get help you tell me no? Don’t you want me to get better? Doesn’t my well being mean nothing to you? Is this some kind of a sick game to you? You can’t play with my life like this. Do you get some kind of sadistic pleasure from me being like this?” Joker takes a deep, shaky breath and presses the handkerchief to his tear stained cheeks, smearing his makeup even more in the process.

“I’ll take you to Arkham. Just, stop,” Bruce says before Joker can continue, and to his utter dismay Joker stops crying in an instant. He blinks at Bruce through the tears in his eyes before straightening up and giving Bruce a blinding smile.

“Oh goodie. Glad we’re in an agreement. Do you want me to wait outside while you bring the kid or do you wanna go together? And you can keep the box. It’s been bird infested, I can’t use it anymore,” Joker says and grins as he wipes the tears from his face.

Bruce takes a deep breath, willing the headache behind his eyes to go away before turning to Tim without a word. Tim’s staring at Joker like he has no idea what to make of him and Bruce can’t blame him, he has no idea what just happened either.

Bruce ignores Joker in favor of helping Tim get up, and he supports most of his weight as they make their way slowly across the cold hall. Joker skips to the door ahead of them and holds it open, bowing when Bruce drags Tim through it. They get outside without any problems with Joker skipping ahead of them and opening doors, and Bruce practically carrying Tim most of the way. Joker calls shotgun and Bruce keeps a close eye on him while he helps Tim settle in the backseat.

Joker stays quiet for almost five minutes before turning to face Bruce.

“You do realize I could’ve just killed him?” Joker points at Tim as he raises his eyebrow looking at Bruce expectantly. “A little gratitude would be nice”, he continues when Bruce doesn’t say anything. Bruce grips the steering wheel tighter and grinds his teeth together, ignoring Joker in hopes of shutting him up.

“Is he always like this?” Joker asks and turns to frown at Tim. “I mean it’s like talking to an ungrateful brick wall. Is he capable of saying thanks?”

“Thanks,” Bruce says before Tim has to reply to Joker, and Joker sighs and turns his attention back to Bruce with an unimpressed look on his face.

“It doesn’t mean anything now. I shouldn’t have to tell you to thank me for being nice,” Joker says and shakes his head as he turns his attention back to Tim.

“Do you see what I have to deal with?” Tim forces a smile and to his credit he faces Joker without hesitation. Bruce should give him more credit than he does.

“Leave him alone,” Bruce growls before thinking better of it. Joker keeps his eyes glued on Tim for a few seconds longer before sitting back in his seat and taps his fingers on his knees, his attention now fixed on Bruce.

“You know what darling? Tomorrow morning you should eat your cereal before you pee in it,” Joker says too kindly, and Bruce throws him an angry glare while Tim suppresses a laugh. “Just an idea.” Joker raises his hands for a second before focusing his attention to the window.

Joker keeps quiet until they reach Arkham’s gates and he’s out of the car before Bruce can stop him, though he stops a few feet from the car to wait for Bruce to take him in. Bruce sighs and tells Tim to sit tight, and follows Joker outside. 

Joker seems to be reconsidering his choice when Bruce steps next to him.

“I want my knife back when I get out,” Joker says, his eyes glued to the night sky. Bruce nods and waits for Joker to move first. He’s still not sure what he’s planning but something tells him Joker isn’t trying to take over Arkham again.

Joker starts towards Arkham’s doors with a heavy sigh. Bruce stays by his side and lets Joker set the pace, even if he gets the feeling Joker is stalling. Joker stops before they reach the doors, and digs through his pockets.

“Take this to Jonny,” he says and hands his phone to Bruce without facing him. Bruce accepts the phone, surprised and a little touched Joker would trust him with it.

“I’ll rather have it with you than those assholes in there,” Joker explains without facing Bruce. Joker doesn’t wait for a reply before walking to the Asylum entrance and up the stairs, and throwing the doors open. He greets the guards loudly as he waves his hand and tells them how much he’s missed them.

Bruce rushes after him to let the guards know everything is fine. The guards are a little uneasy with Joker’s sudden appearance, but they take him in and leave Bruce alone in the hall as they escort Joker through the security doors and into the asylum.

Bruce watches after Joker until the doors slam shut behind him before heading back to the car. Tim is still in the backseat and he looks a little better now that Joker is gone. Bruce has to take a moment to just breathe, and he closes his eyes and lets the week worth of tension leave his body. The silence stretches for a few minutes before Tim clears his throat and shifts in his seat.

“Just so you know, I’m telling Alfred you made Joker cry,” Tim says, and though the humor in his voice is nice to hear Bruce still groans and hangs his head. He’ll never live that down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably not gonna be able to do anything but study next week so next update will be a few weeks from now.
> 
> So stay tuned and let me know what you think if this :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this took longer than I originally planned but I got sucked into Star Trek and I successfully completed my first online course of the semester and now my teacher hates me.

Alfred gets Tim hydrated and treats his dislocated joints and a few infected wounds as well as his numerous cuts and bruises, but he thinks Tim will be fine in the long run. He orders Tim off his feet for the next few days to give his body time to recover from the stress it’s been under, and Bruce backs him up without hesitation.

Tim tells Alfred about Joker crying like he’d threatened to do and Alfred gives Bruce a withering look, and Bruce would defend himself if he knew how. Alfred says they all need some sleep and shakes his head disappointedly at Bruce as he help Tim out of the cave, and though Bruce catches the way he’s fighting back a smile it does nothing to lift his sour mood.

He sighs and rubs his temples, and finally gives in to the exhaustion that’s been building in him for days. Bruce barely manages to drag himself into bed before falling asleep with his clothes still on and he doesn’t mind when he wakes up ten hours later feeling a little better. He doesn’t even mind Tim has already told Dick and Barbara about Joker’s breakdown. Dick finds it hilarious and even Barbara pointing out Joker can probably cry on cue does nothing to dampen his amusement. Bruce is just happy to have his family safe again.

It takes Bruce three days to get the nerve to pick Joker’s phone up and turn it on. The battery is low but not dying, and Bruce connects it to a charger before running the decryption program to get past the security codes. Bruce isn’t planning on snooping, he just wants Jonny’s number so he can track him down as quickly as possible, but his curiosity gets the best of him and he types in his own number just to see how Joker has listed him.

Bruce smiles when he sees his number listed under  _ sweetie  _ followed by a smiley and a heart. There’s even a picture of Bruce sound asleep with his face buried in a pillow added to his number, and Bruce would get mad over it if he didn’t feel so warm at that moment. It’s childish and stupid and Bruce loves Joker a little bit more for it, and it eases the hurt and anger he still feels over what Joker had done to Tim a little.

Bruce pulls up Jonny’s number and writes it down, and he’s about to put the phone down when he decides to act on a whim. He starts going through the pictures, trying to find the one Joker had taken of him on the morning after Bruce had been kidnapped.

He doesn’t pay attention to the other pictures, telling himself they’re none of his business, and soon his attention zeroes in on a picture of himself, in his kitchen with his hair still messy from sleep, smiling at something Joker had said. Bruce has never seen himself that happy and content, and it’s not fair Joker is the one to give him that. Bruce turns the phone off and hides it, he’s not risking someone else getting their hands on it. He’ll get it to Jonny when the night falls.

Tim comes down to the cave, bringing Bruce back to reality from his thoughts, and Bruce sits up a little straighter. Tim hasn’t said much since he came home and Bruce doesn’t know how to ask him if he needs to talk. Bruce doubts he’d ask even if he knew how. Tim has been giving him looks when he thinks Bruce can’t see it, like something is bothering him but he’s afraid to bring it up and Bruce isn’t sure he wants to know what’s going on in his head.

It leaves them in the uncomfortable situation where neither one really says what they think.

“I’m going to Bludhaven with Dick for a few days. And Barbara said she’s got something for you,” Tim says without looking Bruce in the eyes.

“I’ll talk to her,” Bruce promises and offers Tim a smile. Tim nods and waves his goodbye, and for a moment he looks like he’s about to say something else before thinking better of it.

Tim leaves the cave and Bruce sighs, annoyed with his own inability to deal with the situation. He should know how to ask Tim if he’s okay but he’s got no idea how to approach the subject of Joker with him. It’s never been something he’s had to do before and he never thought he’d have to learn how to talk about that particular topic under the current circumstances. Bruce wallows in his misery for a few minutes longer before getting a grip of himself and calling Barbara.

“You’re going to want to go to the Arkham board meeting,” Barbara says as a way of greeting and Bruce closes his eyes.

“What did you find?” He asks, already dreading the answer.

“Nothing really. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with their finances or treatment logs but something doesn’t match. Like they claim to use certain drugs but they haven’t restocked on them in a while. And their finances look clean but the total amount of money spent doesn’t add up,” Barbara replies and her frustration is clear in her voice.

“I’ll go and check it out,” Bruce promises and disconnects the comm lines. He had hoped Arkham would have left their shady dealings in the past when Strange had gone from director to patient but it’s starting to seem like that hadn’t happened.

Bruce notifies Arkham of his intention to join the board meeting and ignores the anxiousness swelling inside him. He doesn’t like going to Arkham as Bruce Wayne. It leaves him feeling too unprotected and vulnerable but it can’t be helped, he has to be sure the patients at Arkham are being treated well.

The meeting is still a few weeks away and while it gives Bruce a chance to prepare without having to hurry it also leaves him with a bit too much time in his hands, and he’s not sure how to busy himself now that Joker is in Arkham. At some point he’s gotten used to his company.

Bruce takes little comfort in knowing Tim is in Bludhaven for the weekend, giving him one less thing to worry about. He busies himself with studying the files Barbara sent him to make sure the Arkham board can’t throw him off with anything, and when the sun sets he suits up and goes to find Jonny.

Bruce doesn’t let Alfred or Barbara in on what he’s doing, he’s not trusting them to be okay with anything Joker related yet. He takes his time tracking Jonny’s phone, and to his surprise he finds Jonny at the clinic he’d taken Joker into after his encounter with Croc.

Bruce waits outside the clinic until Jonny comes out and sticks to the shadows to stay out of sight. He watches Jonny walk through the doors and lock them behind him before walking to his car. Rather than stop Jonny before he can get into his car and drive off Bruce waits until the car starts before diving off his spot above the clinic and landing heavily on the car. Scare tactics go a long way with the criminal underworld and if Bruce happens to have a little fun with it from time to time that’s his business.

Jonny curses and rolls down the window to see what hit his car, and when he sees Batman of all people on his roof he curses even louder and shakes his head as he hangs his head, defeat clear on his face. Bruce smirks for a second before schooling a scowl on his face.

“I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Robin,” Jonny says as he gets out of his car. Bruce drops down to the ground and towers over Jonny, and waits until he starts fidgeting before tossing Joker’s phone to him. Jonny almost drops it in his surprise.

“I’m not getting beaten up?” Jonny sounds cautiously hopeful and Bruce doesn’t say anything for a few long seconds.

“Not this time,” he replies eventually, and takes a little pleasure in the way Jonny swallows nervously. Best keep Joker’s current top henchman and driver a little on the edge.

“Thanks,” Jonny says when Bruce turns to disappear back into the shadows, and Bruce listens to the sound of him scrambling back into his car and driving off as fast as he dares.

Bruce doesn’t let himself smile until he’s safely in the shadows.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next two weeks pass slowly, and by the time Bruce needs to go to the Arkham board meeting he’s more frustrated than anxious, even if he doesn’t show it. Alfred offers to drive him but Bruce shakes his head as he pulls his coat on.

“I need you to work with Barbara and keep an eye on Arkham. Monitor the cameras and communications. I need to know if they’re going to try something,” Bruce says and offers Alfred a brief smile.

“Very well,” Alfred replies and nods, and steps out of Bruce’s way.

“Should I call Tim if things get ugly?” Alfred asks before Bruce can walk out of the door, and Bruce stops and turns to face him again.

“No, let him rest. And if he offers to help tell him to focus on school. That should keep him busy.” Alfred nods and smiles briefly, trusting Bruce to know what he’s doing. Bruce waves a quick goodbye before hurrying out of the door and to his car. He’s going to be a little early but that’s just how he likes it.

Bruce makes sure he's not forgetting anything while he drives to Arkham, and asks Barbara to run everything she has by him one last time. She summarizes the situation to Bruce once more, and Bruce thanks her and tells her not to get into another competition with Alfred over who is better at helping him. The first time had been stressful enough, even if Alfred and Barbara had thought it was fun Bruce doesn’t want to have a repeat of that ever again.

Soon enough Arkham towers before Bruce, and he parks the car at a spot where he can easily get to it if he has to. He’s not trusting the meeting to go as he wishes, though a nice, boring board meeting is exactly what he wants for a change, but it’s Arkham and things are rarely that easy in there. Bruce takes a couple of seconds just to breathe deeply before stepping out of the car, and he double checks the doors are locked before steeling himself and marching inside the Asylum.

He has to wait while he’s checked in and given a visitor ID, and after Bruce has gone through the proper protocols a guard guides him through the Asylum to the conference room the meeting will be held in. He’s happy to see he’s not the last one to arrive, and at least this far things are going like he wants them to.

Bruce greets the current acting director of the Asylum, a small middle aged man named Rogers with an ego that’s too big for anyone running a mental institution.

“So nice of you to make it,” Rogers says as he shakes Bruce’s hand. Bruce gets the impression Rogers doesn’t mean it but he hides his suspicions and smiles.

“I thought I’d see where my money is going now that Arkham’s under new management,” Bruce replies. Rogers’ face hardens even as he keeps smiling, and he nods once and drops Bruce’s hand.

“I’m sure you’ll be happy to know we’re focused on the wellbeing of the patients,” he says and marches away to talk to the exhausted doctor Leland. Bruce catches her eye and offers her a small smile, and he returns it before focusing on Rogers. 

Bruce wanders to a corner where he can observe everyone in the room without drawing attention and tries not to think about how close he is to Joker now that he’s inside the Asylum. It won’t do him any good and he has to stay focused on the task at his hands. He crosses his arms and appears as relaxed as he can even as he takes note of everyone’s interactions, trying to spot the alliances and disagreements among the board members.

It takes nearly fifteen minutes for everyone to be present and seated, and Bruce listens to the mundane things like current staff and patient count, the state of the Asylum, and how much money they need to keep everything running smoothly. That piques Bruce’s interest, and he listens closely while Rogers tells the board they should invest in a better security system to keep the inmates from escaping so easily.

“The current security system is the best one on the market and it was installed about a month before you came in by Wayne Enterprises. For free I might add,” Bruce points out. Rogers looks a bit thrown off for a second before giving Bruce a withering glare and focusing on his papers.

“The escape rates have actually dropped,” Leland says and waits until Rogers looks up to her. “The problem is that we have highly intelligent, bored criminals in the maximum security ward and we don’t have the resources to offer them proper treatment or recreational activities. There’s nothing wrong with the security.”

“Then how do you explain them being out on the streets every time they feel like it?” Rogers snaps.

“Like I said, they’re bored. Take Nygma for example. Every time the security system is updated it’s a new puzzle for him to solve. He loves it. Crane and Quinn know the Asylum in a way the other patients don’t and Joker views this place as a five star resort with free drugs. You want to invest in something invest in better treatment,” Leland replies, staying professional the whole time, and Rogers looks like he wants to cross his arms and pout.

Bruce would say he agrees with her if it was something he could do, but Bruce Wayne isn’t supposed to have that good of an understanding of proper mental health care. There are a few agreeing murmurs around the table and Rogers looks almost offended for a moment.

”We’ll have to look into that,” Rogers says eventually, his voice tight and carefully neutral.

“Now that we’re sort of on the subject, my accountant noticed some discrepancies in your books,” Bruce says and gets a loaded silence as a response. He waits for someone to say something as he observes everyone’s reactions.

Leland looks done and Rogers looks genuinely dumbfounded by the accusation, and it surprises Bruce. Rogers isn’t good enough actor to fake the expression on his face.

Bruce looks at the others. The head of security, Parker, is looking ahead of him with a closed off expression that raises Bruce’s suspicions. Nancy Carter, the new head of psychiatry, eyes the board with too calm eyes for Bruce’s liking. Bruce never liked her much, he’d always believed she had a hand in Strange’s operations but nobody could ever prove anything. Bruce wouldn’t be surprised if she’s behind whatever is going on in the Asylum at the moment.

Most of the other board members look confused, but even the ones who don’t aren’t high enough on the staff or board to be of concern to Bruce at that moment.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Rogers says and looks to the chief of finances for confirmation, but only gets a confused shrug in return.

“Maybe we should take a break so that we can look into this,” Parker cuts in and Carter nods in agreement, and Bruce takes note of everyone who gets up without waiting to hear if everyone agrees with the idea.

“This meeting will resume in fifteen minutes!” Rogers calls after them. Bruce waits until everyone else is doing whatever they feel like doing before getting up and getting outside the room. He looks up and down the corridor to make sure he’s not within earshot of anyone as he pulls his phone out and dials Barbara.

“Something’s definitely going on. Look into Carter and Parker, and that new guy who’s looking into financing Arkham,” Bruce tells her and she’s tapping away on her keyboard before he’s finished his sentence. Bruce leans on the wall and waits patiently for her to be done, keeping an eye on his surroundings and puts on a bored face in case anyone pays attention to him.

Barbara takes a deep breath and starts to speak, but the line disconnects before she gets one syllable out. Bruce frowns and checks his phone to see if it somehow got turned off but that didn’t happen and he’s got a full battery too. The only thing amiss is the sudden loss of network connection.

Bruce has no idea what happened but it gives him a bad feeling. His eyes dart around the corridor but no one else seems to have noticed something’s wrong. He decides to go back to the conference room and make sure everyone is okay and to see if anyone else is having trouble with their phones. If Bruce is lucky his phone just broke and everything is fine, though the more realistic part of his mind keeps telling him something bad is about to happen. He pushes himself off the wall, moving as casually as possible, and he’s about to open the conference room door when a siren goes off.

Bruce freezes.

For a second nothing happens, then the corridor fills with commotion and the whole Arkham board is clamoring and trying to figure out what’s going on. Rogers tries to get his voice heard to no avail, but he still keeps telling everyone to remain calm despite his nervousness clear in his voice and expression. Bruce keeps an eye on the small crowd as he  sneaks past Rogers, snatching his key card as he goes.

Bruce intends to get outside the Asylum and return as Batman, but he doesn’t get even two steps away from the panicking board members before Nancy Carter grabs his arm and stops him. Bruce meets her kind eyes without hesitation and waits for her to speak. He almost misses Parker sneaking away as Carter begins to speak.

“The staff entrance is this way. It’s away from the wards,” she says and smiles that clinically polite smile she usually reserves for her patients. Bruce doesn’t miss the way she tugs at his arm, expecting him to do what she wants, so he smiles and nods and lets himself be pulled away from the crowd. He doubts he could get away from her without raising any questions so he might as well follow her. At least he already knows she’s a part of whatever is going on in the Asylum so he won’t be blindsided if she tries something. Bruce wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one who set the alarm off in the first place.

Carter leads Bruce through a set of doors and down a flight of stairs, explaining that the elevators won’t work when an alarm goes off. Bruce doesn’t say he already knows it. He also doesn’t mention she’s not leading him towards the staff entrance. Bruce gets more concerned the deeper into the Asylum Carter leads him, and when they step out of yet another stairwell Bruce knows he’s in trouble.

The hallway they’ve entered leads to the maximum security ward.

“Oh dear. I must have missed a turn,” Carter says and looks apologetic, but Bruce isn’t buying it.

“It’s fine,” Bruce replies instead of calling Carter out on her lie, and takes a couple of steps away from her, unsure of her intentions. He can hear the riot going on in the other wards but so far the maximum security is still quiet. Bruce doesn’t understand why, and he turns partly to look at the heavy security doors and listens closely, trying to hear even a single coming from the ward. All he hears is the riot going on in the other parts of the Asylum.

Bruce is so focused on the sounds around him he doesn’t notice Carter moving until she’s sliding her key card on the keypad on the wall and closing the security gates, trapping Bruce in the corridor. Bruce glares at her and steps up to the gates, and takes some pleasure in seeing Carter take a quick step back.

“It’s nothing personal, but I can’t have you poking around things that aren’t any of your business,” Carter says and it might be the first honest thing she’s said to Bruce. She pulls out a radio and gives Bruce an apologetic smile he doesn’t want to see and shakes her head.

“Let them out,” she says into the radio and Bruce can hear Parker confirm her order.

“Goodbye,” Carter says to Bruce before hurrying away, and Bruce almost calls after her but the clanking sound from the maximum security ward stops him. Bruce stands frozen for a second before darting to the gate and pulling out Rogers’ key card. He gets the gate open easily enough, using his own override code that technically doesn’t exist along with the card. He shuts the gates after him and disappears back into the stairwell moments before the ward doors unlock and let the inmates out.

Bruce stays silent and leans on the wall next to the door, and listens to the sounds coming from the hallway. Nygma’s voice carries through the door and Bruce doubts the gates will hold him for long but if Bruce is lucky Crane and Dent will keep him distracted for a few seconds.

Bruce doesn’t wait to see how fast Nygma can break through the security system. He hurries up the flight of stairs, keeping his steps light and quiet, and paying close attention to the sounds coming from the corridors. He doesn’t think rushing through the front gates would be a good idea, he’ll be better off getting higher and seeing if he can contact Alfred or Barbara. He needs to know what’s going on in the Asylum and how many inmates are out of their cells and someone has to hack the cameras and check the situation.

Bruce gets to the top floor without being spotted but there’s no reception there either, and Bruce can’t get any of the windows open to see if that would help. He sighs and considers his options. There’s no way he’ll get out through the front door, but he might have some luck with the staff entrance. Bruce figures it’s worth a try.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce stays out of sight and manages to get back to the stairwell near the maximum security ward without being seen. There were a few moments Bruce almost got spotted, but he’s learned how to stay out of sight a long time ago, and the inmates aren’t exactly masters at sneaking up on people. Bruce hides in the stairwell when a group of inmates walk down the corridor, and he’s so focused on the slowly retreating sounds coming from behind the door he doesn’t hear the quiet footsteps behind his back.

The first clue someone is behind Bruce is the way the hairs at the back of his neck. The second is his eyes being covered and his head being pulled back. Bruce throws caution to the wind and drives his elbow into his assailant. He follows it with a hard kick as he turns around, and the only reason he doesn’t throw a punch in there for good measure is he’s too shocked by coming face to face with a very surprised Joker.

For a second the world stands still, then Joker loses his balance. Bruce tries to catch him but he’s just a bit too late, and he watches on, horrified, as Joker falls down the stairs. Joker crashes to the ground face first and an eerie silence falls to the stairwell. Bruce stands on top of the stairs, frozen in his place, and prays for Joker to move.

But Joker doesn’t move. Bruce’s breath catches in his throat and his world narrows down to Joker sprawled on the bottom of the stairs. It takes him a second but Bruce forces his legs to move and runs down the stairs and kneels next to Joker, and lets out a sigh of relief that he’s still breathing. He’s also bleeding and his arm is twisted in an awkward angle but he’s breathing and that’s all that matters to Bruce.

Bruce reaches out to push the hair out of Joker’s face but stops with his hand hovering over Joker’s cheek. He doesn’t want to hurt Joker even further and he has no way of knowing the damage he’s already done. Joker might have hurt his neck or spine and Bruce doesn’t dare to touch him.

Then Joker twitches and groans and Bruce feels infinitely better.

“Don’t move,” Bruce orders softly and places his hand on Joker’s shoulder as gently as possible, and to his relief Joker stills and slowly opens his eyes. Joker seems dazed but he listens to Bruce and stays still. Bruce waits until Joker seems more coherent before lifting his hand off of him and forcing a shaky smile on his lips.

“Do you think you can sit up?” Bruce asks and refuses to get anxious when Joker does nothing but stare at Bruce with unfocused eyes for a long moment before nodding. Bruce helps Joker sit up and lean on the wall, and Bruce makes sure he’s not too hurt. As far as he can tell Joker’s biggest problems are a concussion, a twisted ankle and a busted shoulder, though he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d got a broken bone or two.

Bruce waits for Joker to stop looking so dizzy before sitting on the stairs, leaning his elbows on his knees with his hands crossed so he won’t fiddle with them, and tries to decide what he should do next. Joker lets his head hang on his chest, his too lifeless hair falling on his face. For a second Bruce worries he’s lost consciousness but then he wipes the blood off his lip with a shaky hand though he only manages to smudge the blood all over his face. If the blood dripping from his mouth is any indication he’s bit through either his tongue or cheek.

“Not sure I’ve done anything to warrant a murder attempt,” Joker says after a long silence, his voice a bit too thick to sound natural. Bruce grimaces and suppresses a groan.

“I didn’t realize it was you,” he replies with an apologetic voice, and he catches the minute quirk of Joker’s lips.

“That supposed to make me feel better?” Joker glances at Bruce and makes a face that’s probably supposed to be a smile, and Bruce almost grimaces at how forced Joker’s nonchalance is.

“Guess not,” Bruce replies quietly and looks down to his hands. He wants to apologize to Joker though he’s not sure if it’s because he nearly killed him just minutes ago or because of the last time they saw each other, and he has no idea how to even begin to bring either one of those things up.

“You’re still pissed,” Joker says after a few minutes of loaded silence, and Bruce almost jumps at the sound of his voice. He opens his mouth to deny it, but stops and considers it for a second. He doesn’t think he’s still mad but he’d rather be sure, and he turns his eyes to Joker and really looks at him for the first time in a long time.

To his surprise Bruce can’t find it in him to be angry over their ruined date or even Joker kidnapping Tim. He’d expected the dull nothing he’d been feeling to transform into anger or hurt at the sight of Joker but nothing happens and Bruce isn’t about to examine the reasons behind it at that moment.

“I’m not mad,” Bruce replies and he means it.

“Then why’d you try to kill me?” Joker counters and glares at Bruce for a second before lowering his eyes.

“I wasn’t trying to kill you.” Bruce does his best to sound as calm as possible. Joker scoffs and coughs up blood, and Bruce worries he’s hurt worse than he thought.

“I didn’t even know you’re here. The news didn’t mention you getting locked up,” Bruce says after a moment, and Joker snorts and glances up at Bruce with amused eyes.

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” he replies with a shrug and it piques Bruce’s interest.

“You wanted to be in Arkham? Why?” Bruce asks and does his best to hide most of his curiosity. He hadn’t understood Joker’s desire to be in Arkham when he’d dropped him off and he still doesn’t understand it.

“Besides the free drugs?” Joker’s avoiding the question and the only reason Bruce doesn’t point it out is that he feels kind of bad for nearly killing Joker.

“But how did you get locked up this time?” Bruce asks instead and Joker grins, the blood dripping from his mouth painting his jaw red in a way that’s way more disturbing than it should.

“I’m an amazing fake crier,” Joker says proudly and Bruce’s face falls. “I am,” Joker insists, misreading Bruce’s expression and Bruce doesn’t even think about correcting him.

“How’d you think I got Harls to stick around for so long? Couple of tears and a few sobs and the right words and anyone falls for it.” Joker coughs and leans his head on the wall and closes his eyes, and if Bruce wasn’t so busy feeling stupid he’d remind Joker to stay awake.

The walls muffle the distant sounds of the riot and it’s almost like Bruce and Joker don’t exist in the same plane of existence as the rest of the world. It’s close to peaceful and after a while Bruce relaxes despite the small voice in the back of his mind telling him to stay vigilant.

“You can fuck off now,” Joker says suddenly, throwing Bruce off even faster than he usually does.

“Sorry?” Bruce frowns and stares at Joker, his confusion clear on his face.

“I don’t need you,” Joker replies without opening his eyes and Bruce wants to call him a liar. He knows Joker well enough to know he can’t stand the idea of someone being able to walk away from him, and if Bruce was wearing his batsuit he’d say as much. As it it Bruce bites back the  _ darling _ stuck in his throat. He can’t give that to Joker, not there, but he can’t let Joker push him away either. He won’t leave Joker there, alone and hurt when the Asylum is run over with rioting inmates.

“I’m not leaving you,” Bruce states but Joker doesn’t give any indication of even hearing him. Bruce grinds his teeth and stares at the floor for a second before coming to a decision.

“Baby come on.” Joker’s surprised eyes snap to Bruce and Bruce takes a moment to be proud he caught Joker off guard. “I’m not going to leave you here when you’re hurt. And stop being such a drama queen over a stupid fight. Let’s just agree we both overreacted and leave it at that, okay?” Bruce stares at Joker with an expression that leaves no room for arguments. Joker meets his eyes and for the first time in a long time there’s a hint of genuine amusement in his smile.

“You overreacted more,” Joker says after a moment and Bruce smiles.

“Fine,” he says and something in Joker seems to change. It’s a barely there shift in his eyes and a minute easing of his shoulders, but Bruce knows they’ll be fine and that he’s been more or less forgiven.

Bruce slides to the floor to kneel next to Joker and brushes the bloody hair off of his face, and just because he can Bruce cups Joker’s cheek and presses a gentle kiss to his forehead. Joker sighs softly and Bruce stays there for a second with his nose buried in Joker’s hair, breathing in the smell of blood and Arkham and sweat and too many chemicals. Joker raises his hand and presses his fingers to Bruce’s jaw, and Bruce pretends he doesn’t notice the slight tremor running through Joker.

“Can we get out of here now?” Bruce asks quietly. Joker chuckles and nods, letting his hands fall from Bruce’s face, and Bruce pulls away enough to smile gently down at him. Joker’s still dazed but there’s a softness in his eyes that has nothing to do with his concussion or drugs and Bruce wants to kiss him.

“You mind letting me get up?” Joker says before Bruce can do anything, and it takes him a second get what Joker is saying and stand up.

Bruce offers Joker his hand but Joker waves it off as he pushes himself up, leaning on the wall for support and biting his lip as he concentrates on not falling down. Joker manages to stand up, and even though he wavers for a second he finds his footing and pushes himself off the wall. Joker gives Bruce a victorious grin as soon as he’s standing on his own without support and Bruce thinks he shouldn’t be surprised by it.

“I’m totally fine,” Joker states and takes a step towards the stairs, and for a second it seems like everything is okay. Then Joker’s legs give out under him and Bruce has to catch him before he falls down again.

Joker huffs and holds onto Bruce’s shoulders as tightly as he can, and Bruce keeps him upright while he finds his footing again. Bruce doesn’t let go of Joker even when he stops leaning on him so heavily and Joker doesn’t seem inclined to let go of Bruce either.

The commotion in the hallway above them snaps Bruce back to the moment and the reality of their situation hits him hard. He goes through his options fast and takes a deep breath as he comes to a decision.

“Put your arms around me,” he tells Joker who frowns up at him and doesn’t move. Bruce remains patient and ignores the noises coming from the top of the stairs.

“I’m going to carry you and you’re going to tell me where to go,” Bruce says and waits for Joker to get over his amusement and surprise over his idea. In the end Joker shrugs and wraps his arms around Bruce’s neck, and Bruce lets him prepare himself before lifting him off the ground.

“I’m going to break your legs if you drop me,” Joker says conversationally. Bruce doesn’t say he’s had a lot of practice carrying Joker around, but he gives Joker a reassuring smile.

“We need to go to the basement,” Joker says and tightens his hold on Bruce when he starts towards the stairs.

Bruce trusts Joker to watch his back while he focuses on being as quiet as possible. Joker stops him at the ground floor and tells him they’ll need to go through the Asylum, and Bruce hides his nervousness to the best of his abilities. He doesn’t dare to suggest the staff entrance as an alternative to whatever Joker has in mind, he’s not sure how he’d explain his knowledge of the Asylum layout away if Joker were to question it.

“You’ll be fine,” Joker assures him, and the ease at which he picks on Bruce’s emotional state should be more disconcerting to Bruce than it is.

“The door’s locked,” Bruce says and gets a laugh from Joker.

“I’ve never met a locked door that could hold me back,” Joker states as he pushes himself off of Bruce’s arms.

Bruce lets him go though he keeps a hand on Joker’s lower back to keep him from falling down, and waits while Joker inspects the lock on the door. Joker sways from the disorientation his concussion must cause him, and Bruce isn’t going to stand there and let Joker exert himself because Bruce got into trouble. He pulls out the key card he swiped from Rogers and hands it to Joker who stares at it for a second before turning his attention to Bruce.

“Everyone was panicking and I thought it might be useful,” Bruce explains with a shrug and though Joker raises a skeptical eyebrow he lets it be and takes the card. The lock opens and Bruce goes to pick Joker up again, but Joker waves him off.

“I’m gonna have to walk,” Joker says and takes a deep breath. Bruce steps next to him and puts a steadying arm around his waist, ignoring the protesting sound Joker makes.

“You can’t take one step without falling down,” Bruce reminds him and Joker falls silent. “At least lean on me for support,” Bruce continues and after a moment of consideration Joker sighs and puts his arm around Bruce’s shoulders.

Bruce follows Joker’s lead through the thankfully empty corridors of Arkham and keeps an eye for any dangers. The screams and yelling filling the Asylum are much louder there and Bruce tenses up, expecting to be jumped and preparing for it without really intending to. Joker doesn’t comment on it though he does glance at Bruce briefly from the corner of his eye.

Joker leads Bruce through the maze of corridors at a far slower pace than he usually would. He pushes Bruce into a small closet full of cleaning supplies when a small crowd of inmates approaches the corridor they’re in, and he tasks Bruce with listening to the sounds coming from behind the door. He pays far more attention to the loud gang of inmates passing by than Joker, so he’s a little taken aback when Joker appears next to him with a bottle of chemicals he’d mixed together.

“Are we clear?” Joker whispers and Bruce nods slowly, his attention on the bottle Joker is screwing shut.

“Damn.” Joker pouts and glances at the bottle in his hands before shrugging. “Maybe later,” he mutters and flashes Bruce a smile before pressing his ear to the door. Bruce waits until Joker deems the corridor safe to enter before pushing the door open, slow and cautious, and he looks up and down the now empty corridor before stepping out of the closet and pulling Joker back to his side. Joker keeps the bottle with him while they continue their journey through the Asylum, and Bruce hopes he won’t find any use for it.

Joker opens the gates and doors in their way while Bruce keeps an eye on their surroundings. Joker is still unsure on his feet and Bruce worries what will happen if they’ll end up running into any inmates.

Bruce knows Joker has a lot of power in the Asylum and there are very few people in there who will touch him, but he also knows Joker being hurt can cause the inmates to turn on him in a blink of an eye. Bruce would rather avoid facing that particular scenario.

Joker sneaks a look around a corner before giving Bruce a nod, and Bruce steadies Joker as they round the corner and continue their journey. There’s another gate blocking their way and Bruce helps Joker to it, and waits while Joker pulls the key card out, his attention focused on their surroundings. Joker doesn’t open the gate, instead he leans against it as he chews his lip thoughtfully, causing the wound on it to open again.

“We’re gonna have to go through a ward,” Joker says, his voice unusually serious, and Bruce stands up a little straighter. “Stay close to me and you’ll be fine”, Joker continues and looks Bruce straight in the eye to make sure he’s being understood.

“Okay,” Bruce replies and nods for good measure, and Joker considers him for a couple of seconds longer before turning to the gate and taking a deep breath to steady himself. Bruce fears his concussion is going to get the better of him before they’re out of the Asylum, and though he knows he can get Joker out of there even if he’d be unconscious it won’t be easy.

Bruce spots Nygma appearing on the other end of the corridor, and he’s suddenly grateful Joker hasn’t opened the gate yet. Joker tenses even as he plasters a bright grin on his face and wiggles his fingers at Nygma as he offers the bottle still in his hands to Bruce as discreetly as possible. Bruce accepts the bottle as he steps behind Joker and keeps his hand at Joker’s back for support, and Joker gives him a quick, barely there smile as a thank you.

“Well if it isn’t Eddie Spaghetti himself. Thought you’d be out by now,” Joker says when Nygma gets up to the gate, and Bruce makes a point of looking distressed and out of his depth while Nygma studies him.

Bruce hates being around Nygma as Bruce Wayne, after Joker he’s the most likely of the rogues to figure out who Batman is, and Bruce tries to avoid having any contact with him outside of stopping his criminal activities. Bruce already knows the only reason Joker hasn’t put two and two together is because he doesn’t want to know who Batman is, and Bruce has a suspicion that Joker is purposefully avoiding the truth, but Nygma has no such problems.

“Two things. Why do you look like a train wreck and why is Bruce Wayne with you?” Nygma asks, his sharp eyes shifting from Joker to Bruce and back again.

“I had to fight my way through an army of zombies and Brucie’s gonna drive me home. Because he’s got a car,” Joker replies and presses his face to the bars, and to Bruce’s surprise Nygma laughs and leans close to Joker.

“Guess what I’ve got?” Nygma asks and Joker hums thoughtfully, pretending to think it over.

“A pair of Magpie’s underwear that’s definitely not Arkham issued,” Joker replies and gets another laugh from Nygma.

“No. That’s your thing not mine,” Nygma laughs and Joker snorts, and throws a suggestive wink at Bruce’s way before focusing back on Nygma. Bruce bites his lip and tries not to imagine what Joker would look like in lingerie. It’s definitely not the time or the place for such thoughts.

“I got the passwords to the computer system,” Nygma says, sounding way too proud of himself, and Bruce makes a note of sending Barbara a text as soon as he’s outside.

“Good for you.” Joker’s voice is laced with too much sweetness and Bruce’s polite smile turns into a grimace at the sound of it. Nygma either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, and his attention zeroes back to Bruce.

“But seriously, what do you want with Bruce Wayne of all people?” Nygma stares at Joker expectantly, and Joker sighs and bangs his head on the bars.

“I need someone to drive me home. He’s got a car, he’s cute, he’s rich enough to buy me a panini on the way and he’s a great hostage in case Gordy’s outside the gates. Happy?” Joker’s starting to lose his patience and Nygma sees it, and despite him being visibly dissatisfied with the answer he lets it go.

“I’m going to see what those incompetent imbeciles are hiding,” Nygma states after a minute and nods. “So are you going to open this gate or do I have to do everything myself?” He continues, and Joker shows him the key card.

“Back off loser, I’ve got you beat by a mile,” Joker says and grins when Nygma’s face falls. Joker opens the gate and leans on Bruce’s hand, silently signaling him to stay put while Nygma marches past them.

“I’ll see you outside,” Nygma says as he stops by Joker, and Joker spreads his arms to get Nygma to give him a hug. Nygma balks and raises his hands defensively, and Joker makes the saddest face he can in his current state.

“You know how I feel about bodily fluids,” Nygma says and takes a step back, and Joker lets his arms fall to his sides.

“You’re such a weirdo,” Joker sighs as he lets his arms drop but there’s a smile tugging at his lips and Nygma doesn’t take it personally. Nygma doesn’t stay to see if Joker has anything else to say to him, and Joker watches him disappear around the corner before leaning his whole weight on Bruce with a heavy sigh. Bruce puts his arms around Joker and almost picks him up just so he can rest for a moment.

“I’m fine,” Joker sighs eventually and Bruce helps him through the gates, and if they move a bit slower than before he doesn’t comment on it.

Joker takes a moment to sit on the ground when they reach the heavy doors sealing the entrance to the minimum security ward, and Bruce sits on the ground next to Joker so he doesn’t feel like towering over him. Joker rests his head between his knees and Bruce worries he might get sick or pass out. He needs to get Joker out of there and into fresh air as soon as possible.

“You’re gonna stay next to me,” Joker says eventually, his voice calm and carefully steady, and Bruce nods. ”You’re gonna make sure I look like I can walk on my own. I’m gonna worry about everything else,” Joker continues and turns his head enough to look Bruce in the eye. Bruce waits silently until Joker feels like getting up, and once Joker feels he’s ready Bruce pulls him off the ground and follows every instruction Joker gives him to the best of his abilities.

Joker hooks his arm to Bruce’s elbow and after a second of consideration Joker grabs a hold of Bruce’s wrist for good measure. He’s leaning most of his weight on Bruce as he opens the doors, and Bruce readies himself for anything when they step into the commotion on the other side of the door.

The ward might be minimum security but with all the inmates out of their cells it doesn’t really matter, and Bruce spots several inmates from other wards terrorizing the less hostile patients. He wants to help them but Joker pushes him towards the wall and guides him around the rioting inmates. The few people who pay attention to them jump out of Joker’s way, and nobody seems to really notice Bruce glued to his side.

Joker loosens the cork on his bottle of chemicals and holds it at ready in case someone tries something, but though they draw a few looks nobody dares to cross Joker. Bruce holds his breath and does his best not to rush Joker through the ward. He doesn’t want Joker to get any more hurt than he already is and he doesn’t want Joker to hurt any of the inmates either.

They manage to get halfway through the ward before the first person decides to try their luck against Joker. The hulking man with the maximum security tags on his clothes approaches Joker with a determined expression, and Bruce almost puts himself between the man and Joker. He doesn’t get the chance to move before Joker is taking a step away from him and kneeing the man in the groin to bring him down.

Joker shoves the bottle down the man's mouth and downs the chemicals into his throat, and Bruce forces himself to stay still as the man drowns in the chemicals while Joker silently dares anyone else to approach him.

“Who else wants to play?” Joker asks in that dangerous saccharine voice of his, and unsurprisingly nobody else dares to approach him. Joker glares at the crowd for a few seconds longer before returning to Bruce and hooking their arms. Bruce doesn’t miss the slight tremor running through Joker’s body, and he pushes the flash of anger over the now dead inmate down. He can be upset after they’re somewhere safe and Joker isn’t on the verge of collapsing.

Joker grinds his teeth together and holds his head high even as a sheen of sweat breaks out on his face and he can barely take one step without Bruce holding him up. He walks through the ward with Bruce seemingly in tow, and Bruce feels nothing but respect for him. Bruce has always known Joker could plow through any obstacle in his way with sheer force of will and determination, but seeing him convince a ward full of people he’s perfectly fine and walk through the crowd when he can barely stand up still fills Bruce with a strange sense of pride.

They get through the ward without further problems, and Joker opens the door that leads out of the ward. Joker stays upright up until the heavy door slams shut behind him, sealing them to the blissfully empty hallway, before collapsing on the ground, breathing heavily and shaking. Bruce stands by his side without saying a word, figuring he’ll give Joker a moment to pull himself together in peace. Joker coughs and spits out blood, and Bruce almost expects him to throw up or pass out.

“Can you walk?” Bruce asks softly after Joker stops coughing, and after considering it for a moment Joker shakes his head without looking at Bruce. He seems almost defeated but at least he’s being honest and Bruce can appreciate that, especially in the situation they’re in.

Bruce hauls Joker to his feet and picks him up without waiting to hear if it’s okay, and starts walking towards the entrance to the basement. Joker doesn’t protest and  Bruce wonders if he’s too tired to say anything or if he just doesn’t care.

Joker stays quiet until they reach the basement door. Bruce had expected him to at least ask how Bruce knew where he was going, and his sudden silence scares Bruce more than he’s willing to admit. Joker hands Bruce the key card without a word and Bruce opens the door and steps into the basement with Joker still in his arms, and the door shuts behind them, trapping them in oppressive darkness.

“There’s a switch to your left,” Joker says and Bruce has to lower him to the ground while he he searches for the switch. He finds it and turns the light on, and the narrow stairwell becomes visible in the dim, flickering light of the lamps screwed to the ceiling.

Bruce picks Joker back up and treks down the stairs, but once he reaches the ground he has to stop and wait for Joker to tell him where to go. Bruce knows the inmates have their secret passages out of Arkham but he doesn’t know where they are. Every time they shut one hole in Arkham’s walls a dozen others seems to appear.

“Go down the corridor on the left until you get to the other end, then find the white brick on the back wall,” Joker orders and Bruce does as he’s told. He knows the corridor Joker told him to take leads to the women’s ward that had been recently built in another building. Bruce had been relieved by the new ward since it had cut the times Harley and Joker broke each other out of Arkham in half.

Joker stays quiet while Bruce gets them through the corridor, and Bruce has to make sure he’s still conscious more than once. Bruce doesn’t waste any time setting Joker on the ground and turning the lights on at the basement of the women’s ward, and as soon as he has the poor light to help him he locates the white brick like Joker had told him to.

“What do I do now?” Bruce asks and turns to look at Joker, who stares off to the distance for a second before motioning for Bruce to come get him. Bruce doesn’t waste any time getting to him, and he picks Joker up and carries him to the white brick, curious to see what Joker will do next.

Joker makes Bruce lower him to the ground, and though Bruce supports most of Joker’s weight he’s still upright and it eases Bruce’s mind a little. Joker looks around the wall with barely focused eyes, but eventually he spots a particular box lined up against the wall.

“Push that aside,” he orders and points to the box with a white dot on the bottom corner, and Bruce does as he’s told, revealing a hatch to the old, abandoned sewer system running under the Asylum.

Joker tells Bruce to lift the hatch, and to Bruce’s surprise it’s a lot lighter than he expected. Bruce helps Joker down the hatch before following him, and as the lid falls shut behind him he wishes they’d have a flashlight or something with them. For a moment Bruce can barely see his hand in front of him, but then Joker lights an old flashlight someone must have hid there.

“We’ll go up the next hatch,” Joker says and Bruce picks him up again when Joker’s swaying starts to look dangerous. Joker points the light in the direction he wants Bruce to go, and Bruce keeps an eye on the ceiling for a hatch. He spots it after five or so minutes of trudging in the sewer, and Joker confirms it’s the hatch he meant before letting Bruce set him down. Bruce doesn’t waste time getting the hatch open, and he pushes it aside so he can help Joker up more easily.

The fresh air hits Bruce’s face and he has to blink against the harsh light of the Sun that’s just beginning to set. Bruce hears the sirens blaring in the distance and he wonders if they’re coming to deal with the riot or if something else has happened. He can’t find it in him to care as he flops down on the dry grass next to Joker and enjoys being out of the Asylum. He absently wonders if this is how the inmates feel when they escape.

“Bruce?” Joker’s voice is weaker than before, and when Bruce turns to look at him he looks wan.

“Yeah?” Bruce’s voice is as soft as Joker’s. He wants to clean the blood off of Joker’s face so he’d look less like he’s about to die and he tries to remember if he’d packed a tissue or something in his pockets.

“Don’t take me to a hospital,” Joker says and Bruce wants to argue. Joker needs a hospital, anyone can see that, but Bruce also understands Joker’s point of view. Bruce figures he can deal with a concussion and a busted ankle on his own.

“Okay,” he agrees and Joker gives him a lopsided smile before closing his eyes.

“We need to get to the car,” Bruce says and Joker nods, and Bruce lets him have a minute of peace before standing up and hauling Joker up. He drags Joker along the Asylum wall to the parking lot, and though Bruce can still hear the sirens in the distance the parking lot is blissfully lacking in police cars.

Bruce finds his car and opens the doors, and shoves Joker to the passenger side seat before rushing around the car and climbing in. He’s out of the Asylum grounds by the time the police show up, and the car reaches the Narrows before Joker passes out. Bruce drives a little faster and heads straight to the penthouse, forgetting all about Alfred and Barbara waiting to hear he’s still alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I left a dozen things I wanted to have here out, but I think this works like it is better than how I originally planned this.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was dared to write something domestic so I did. Hope you like it :)
> 
> I'm also gonna have to take a brief hiatus from all non school activity because I'm an idiot and picked a 800 page book for lit class and I have to write an essay and a small presentation on it. In four weeks. So I'm gonna do that and then get back to this.

Despite the traffic and roadblocks around the Narrows due to the Arkham situation it takes Bruce less than an hour to get Joker into his penthouse and back to consciousness, even if it feels like it takes forever. He gets Joker cleaned up and out of his Arkham jumpsuit before patching him up and sending Alfred a text saying he’s fine, and another to Barbara to tell her to keep an eye on what Nygma is doing. Bruce knows he should be heading back to Arkham, preferably in his batsuit, but he can’t leave Joker alone when he might blackout again. So he gives Joker a set of clean clothes and makes sure he’s comfortable before letting himself take a deep breath and sit down.

Bruce spends the rest of the night and a better part of the next day making sure Joker stays conscious and alive, and by the time the Joker stops complaining about his head hurting Bruce is ready to sleep for a week. Joker looks better, if only slightly, and Bruce is comfortable enough to fall into a light slumber around noon with Joker absently petting his hair and humming some tune under his breath.

Alfred calls Bruce later that day, asking him where he is and telling him the police wants to question him on what happened at Arkham. Bruce promises to talk to Gordon as soon as he can, but for now he asks Alfred to tell the police he’s too distraught by the incident to talk about it. Bruce figures it’ll buy him a day or two, and though Alfred sounds a bit dissatisfied with the plan he goes along with it.

Bruce more or less forces Joker to stay in bed for the next few days and he succeeds in it partly because of the prescription painkillers he feeds him, and he almost ties Joker up when he can’t avoid facing Gordon anymore. Joker promises to stay put and, as he puts it, it’s not like he can really leave with his ankle being busted and swollen to the point he can’t even think about putting weight on it, and he’s probably got a fracture on one or two of his ribs so he’ll be more than happy to wait for Bruce to come and play nurse with him. Bruce ignores him in favor of walking out of the door.

Gordon doesn’t buy Bruce’s poor billionaire who got stuck in a riot act, but Bruce sticks to it and keeps saying he found a way to a side entrance and he was too distressed to think clearly so he ran. Gordon doesn’t have anything but a gut feeling that disproves Bruce’s story and he lets Bruce go with a distrusting look in his eyes. Bruce mentions Carter acting funny on his way out, making it sound like it was nothing important, and Gordon thanks him for it.

“How’s Gordy?” Joker asks when Bruce gets back to the penthouse, and to Bruce’s relief he’s still in bed with a laptop on his side playing an episode of some TV show Bruce doesn’t recognize.

“He’s fine,” Bruce replies and climbs into bed with Joker. He’s getting fond of just lounging in bed with Joker all day, and some small part of him wonders why they’ve never done that before.

It isn’t until day four that Bruce decides Joker is well enough to have a serious conversation. Bruce still avoids it by hiding in the kitchen and deciding he’s capable of making his own pasta. He does okay with boiling water and getting the sauce started, but at some point something goes wrong and he ends up with too soggy pasta and a pan full of burned up meat.

Bruce sighs and crosses his arms, and stares at the mess he’s created with a frown on his face. He should’ve known he’d screw things up, he’s never been that good at making food that involved a stove and more than a few minutes of his time.

“So it’s safe to assume you’re not gonna be the housewife in this relationship?” Joker’s amused voice comes from behind Bruce, and Bruce closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before turning around. Joker’s leaning to the wall with a bright smile on his lips, and Bruce shrugs and gives him a sheepish look.

“Can’t be good at everything,” Bruce says and turns the stove off while Joker limps to sit by the kitchen island.

“We could get take out,” Bruce suggests and Joker nods. Bruce cleans out the mess he’d made and orders them food while he’s at it, and Joker taps a mindless rhythm on the counter, observing Bruce’s actions closely.

Bruce puts his phone away and sits on the chair opposite of Joker, figuring he might as well talk to him while they wait for their food. Joker spots the change in Bruce’s demeanor immediately and his face twitches in annoyance before settling into a sweet smile that looks strange on his face without the effect his makeup usually has on his expressions. Bruce wonders if he should find Joker some lipstick before pushing all distractions out of his mind.

“Don’t take this the wrong way-”

“I will most definitely take it the wrong way,” Joker injects and Bruce glares at him for a second.

“But we need to establish some ground rules,” Bruce finishes and waits until Joker’s done groaning and rolling his eyes before continuing

“You can’t pull a gun on me or threaten me every time you get mad over something.” Bruce’s voice doesn’t leave room for arguments, but Joker still makes a incredulous face.

“It’s not like I shot you,” Joker argues and Bruce has to remind himself to stay calm and act like a grown up, and that Joker isn’t exactly the most mentally stable person around and he tends to have some minor problems with basic human interactions.

“That’s not the point. The point is that you can’t threaten my life when you get upset. I don’t care if you yell at me or insult me or wreck an entire room but don’t threaten my well being because you don’t know how to act like a sane person.” Bruce glares Joker down and it’s close he doesn’t act more like Batman than Bruce Wayne, and he thanks his luck Joker doesn’t pay attention to it.

To his credit Joker bites his tongue while his face goes through a series of expressions ranging from furious to hurt to annoyed before settling on something more controlled. Bruce lets him work through it at his pace, and eventually Joker takes a deep breath and presses his hands on the cold counter.

“So now I have to change myself to make you happy,” Joker says eventually, his voice carefully void of emotion.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Bruce replies and shakes his head. “Look, how about you tell me what you need me to do so you won’t feel like pointing deadly stuff at my face and then we’ll find some kind of a middle ground we’ll both be happy with,” he continues and Joker snorts.

“Compromise means neither party is not happy with the outcome,” Joker points out matter of factly and leans forward to stare at Bruce with unblinking eyes.

“Well, in a relationship a compromise means we won’t break up over some stupid thing or end up killing each other,” Bruce replies. Joker rolls his eyes but when Bruce doesn’t budge he seems to consider it, and eventually he sighs and levels Bruce with a more serious expression.

“I wasn’t gonna kill you,” Joker says and Bruce has to do his best not to get frustrated with him.

“Then why would you pull a gun no me?” He asks, and Joker chews his lips as he tries to figure out the next thing he needs to say to get his way.

“Why’d you leave me?” Joker counters and Bruce feels like they’re finally getting close to Joker’s actual problem.

“Because I’m not interested in staying with someone who continuously tries to manipulate me and doesn’t care enough about me to not threaten me with a gun,” Bruce shoots back and to his satisfaction Joker looks a little taken aback by his words. 

“I wouldn’t have had to pull a gun on you if you’d just stayed,” Joker says and Bruce has to take a breath to calm himself down a little.

“Here’s the thing,” he starts and sits up straighter, his expression dead serious as he stares Joker straight in the eyes. “I want you here. God knows why but I do. But I’m not going to do this if you keep threatening me or bullshitting me every time you open your mouth.” Bruce waits until he’s sure Joker is actually hearing what he’s saying before standing up.

“You can stay here for as long as you need but you have to figure out if you want an actual relationship where we don’t lie or manipulate or threaten each other with murder or if you want someone to be your puppet. In which case I suggest you go back to Harley or find someone else to fuck over. Or get a puppy. Those like to do what they’re told to,” Bruce says and leaves the kitchen before Joker can respond, moving as fast as he dares without appearing like he’s running away. If he’s lucky he’s thrown Joker off enough to get him to really think his words, and maybe he’s just put an end to Joker pointing weapons at him. Bruce will have to wait a while before addressing the issue of Joker killing people in front of him.

Bruce doesn’t hide in the living room, he’s just waiting for the food to be delivered, and if he can avoid Joker at the same time then that’s an unplanned bonus. The food arrives within minutes and Bruce makes some comment about a pretty lady waiting for him to get the delivery guy to leave as soon as humanly possible.

Joker hasn’t moved from his spot when Bruce takes the food to the kitchen, and he keeps his eyes fixed firmly on the counter while Bruce sets their meal up. He doesn’t even glance at the plate before him and Bruce doesn’t miss the carefully controlled rhythm of his breathing. Bruce sits down and tries to figure out if he should say something as he stuffs his mouth full of pasta to get an excuse to stay quiet.

Bruce can’t decide on the best thing to say is, and by the time he’s finished his meal and Joker hasn’t even looked at his Bruce gives up. He doubts he’d get a reaction from Joker even if he were to speak, and maybe it’s best to let Joker work things out on his own. Bruce sighs and puts his plate away before walking up to Joker on a whim.

“Try to eat something,” he says and runs his knuckles down Joker’s back. “I’ll do some work in the living room, let me know when you want to talk.” Bruce leans down to press a kiss to Joker’s temple and he waits for Joker to say or do something for a few seconds, but when he remains still and quiet Bruce nods and leaves him alone. Joker will talk to him when he’s ready.

* * *

 

 

Bruce waits for Joker to join him but he never does, and by the time the sun sets Bruce gives up the pretense of working and wanders back to the kitchen only to find an empty table and an untouched meal. Bruce’s shoulders slump at the sight, and he packs the food into the fridge in case Joker will want it later.

Bruce takes a moment to think about his next move, and he decides the best thing he can do is figure out where Joker is hiding and make sure he’s fine. He finds Joker curled up in bed with the lights turned off, and for a moment Bruce thinks he’s asleep but the way he tenses when Bruce reaches the bed gives him away.

“Mind if I sit down?” Bruce asks and waits for Joker to respond, but when Joker pays no attention to him Bruce sighs and sits down on the edge of the bed with what he hopes is a long enough distance between them so Joker won’t be uncomfortable. Bruce waits for Joker to do something but the minutes pass by slowly without Joker giving any indication of being aware of Bruce’s presence.

“Do you want me to sleep on the couch tonight?” Bruce asks, his voice more light than he feels, but Joker doesn’t acknowledge him.

“I can’t fix what’s wrong if you don’t talk to me,” Bruce says and reaches out to run his hand along Joker’s side. Joker tenses at the touch, but Bruce doesn’t pay attention to it and after a while Joker starts to relax. Bruce gives Joker the time he needs to decide if he’s ready to talk, and after a few minutes Joker turns just enough to look at Bruce over his shoulder.

“I just wanted you to stay,” Joker says so quietly Bruce almost doesn’t hear it, and suddenly it’s very hard for Bruce to breathe. He presses his face to Joker’s shoulder, mindful of the many cuts and bruises and injuries he has, and shuts his eyes. He breathes in the smell of Joker as he tries to figure out what he’s supposed to say.

“I just needed some space,” Bruce says eventually and lifts his head enough to look Joker in the eyes. “You need to trust me when I say I won’t leave you.”

Joker chews his lips and Bruce holds his breath as he waits for the doubtful look to disappear from Joker’s eyes. It’s a delicate situation and Bruce doesn’t want to screw it up. His hand feels cold as he reaches out to touch Joker’s cheek to reassure him of his presence and something chances in Joker’s eyes.

“I wasn’t gonna hurt you,” Joker says softly and Bruce believes him. “And you can’t ask me to be myself and then throw a fit when I do that,” Joker continues and Bruce nods, he gets what Joker means even if he doesn’t like it.

“Deal,” Bruce says and gets a small smile from Joker. It feels like a victory and Bruce smiles, letting all the affection and love he feels for Joker show on his face for a change. Joker smiles a little wider and rolls his eyes, and Bruce runs his fingers through Joker’s hair absently, enjoying the closeness he’d missed while Joker was away.

“And I don’t manipulate you,” Joker says suddenly and Bruce snorts before he can stop himself. Joker glares at him and opens his mouth to argue, but Bruce beats him to it.

“Yeah, you do,” he laughs and sits up a little straighter to get a better look at Joker’s face.

“No I don’t,” Joker insists, and it’s Bruce’s turn to roll his eyes.

“So you didn’t try to cutesy me out of being mad with you after you threatened to shoot Cobblepot’s dick off?” Bruce barely keeps his face straight when Joker opens his mouth a few times before snapping his jaw shut, his eyes darting around the room. It dawns on Bruce it’s a small miracle Joker lets him see that he doesn’t have an immediate answer to everything.

“I wouldn’t call it manipulation,” Joker replies eventually and raises an eyebrow, and Bruce chuckles softly. Joker tilts his head and pouts for a second before cracking up and laughing. Bruce hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that sound until that moment.

“Okay maybe it was a little manipulative. Like, ten percent manipulative at most,” Joker says and Bruce hums in agreement. “I’ll give you twenty percent if you tell me how the fuck you can tell when I’m lying to you,” Joker continues and Bruce stares at him with wide eyes for a second before laughing it off.

“I run a multimillion dollar company. I have to be able to tell when people are trying to bullshit me,” he replies and Joker thinks about it for a moment before shrugging and accepting his answer.

“So can I sleep here or do I need to go back to the couch?” Bruce asks and Joker looks at him like he’s being stupid.

“You’ve got a guest room,” he points out.

“Yeah, but it’s the principle of the thing. You fight and the offending party sleeps on the couch.” Bruce shrugs and enjoys the laugh he gets from Joker.

“You can sleep here. Besides it’s your bed,” Joker replies and Bruce leans down to kiss his cheek as a thank you before pushing himself off the bed. He strips his clothes off, fully aware of Joker’s eyes on him, and walks into the bathroom to take a shower, and if he gives Joker a bit of a show as he goes it’s his business and Joker’s not complaining.

Bruce takes his time in the shower, and since he has the time he shaves and dries himself off, and just to keep Joker waiting for a few minutes longer he applies all the moisturizers and lotions he can reasonably use in one go. After he’s done he enters the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, and when Joker makes an appreciative sound Bruce throws the towel towards the bed before picking up a pair of sweats. Joker laughs as the towel hits him in the face, not even bothering to pretend to dodge it.

“You know, there’s been a severe lack of kisses for the past few days. I’m feeling kiss deprived and you need to fix it,” Joker says and Bruce stops short of pulling a shirt on, and turns his eyes to Joker sitting on his bed with a towel in his lap and a wide grin on his face. Bruce decides the shirt can wait and strides to the bed, and he pushes Joker down as he climbs on top of him.

“Careful sweetie, I’m still in recovery,” Joker laughs even as he pulls Bruce closer. Bruce nods and takes a second to just look at Joker before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.

Joker sighs as he buries his hands into Bruce’s wet hair, and he lets Bruce keep the kiss soft and lazy. Bruce gets lost in the taste and feel of Joker, and he barely registers his phone starting to ring on the nightstand. It’s not important to him, not when he has Joker there with him after being apart from him for so long.

But the ringing doesn’t stop and eventually it breaks the bliss Bruce was getting lost in, and he curses as he pulls away from Joker to grab his phone.

“Forget about it,” Joker says and reaches to pull Bruce back into his arms. Bruce stops, wanting to ignore the phone and feeling like he should answer it, and Joker tilts his head back slightly as he licks his lips and wraps his legs around Bruce’s waist.

“Stay with me,” Joker says, his voice soft and almost imploring, and Bruce gives in. He can always get back to whoever is trying to reach him in a few minutes. He shuts the noise out of his mind and settles back on top of Joker, mindful of his hurt ribs, and kisses him again. The ringing stops after a few minutes and Bruce barely notices it.

* * *

 

 

Bruce never calls Alfred back. He’d forgotten about his phone ringing by the time he was done kissing Joker senseless, and he’d stayed up to the early hours of the morning just talking with Joker before falling asleep, and the call hadn’t seemed important when he’d woken up. He’d figured he’d call Alfred when he had the time but he just never got around to it. He does send him a text saying everything is fine when his conscience begins to bother him.

Bruce blames Joker’s presence for his less than ideal behavior.

Joker heals slowly, and after ten days he’s well enough to hop around the penthouse without having to rest at every room. His ankle is still a little swollen and sore and his ribs still hurt, but most of his cuts and bruises have started to heal nicely. Bruce has also caught Joker rubbing his left shoulder when he thinks Bruce can’t see it, and Bruce pretends he hasn’t noticed it.

During the course of the week Joker has been more or less up on his feet they have developed a routine where Bruce makes them coffee while Joker gets the breakfast ready. To Bruce’s dismay Joker can actually cook, and Joker takes great delight in making the pasta and sauce Bruce had failed so miserably. They tend to settle in the living room after the breakfast, and Joker watches the cartoons or some other show that amuses him while Bruce works on his Wayne Enterprises projects. Bruce doubts he’s ever got so much work done in one week.

Joker tends to get tired of the TV around noon at which point he begins bothering Bruce to the point he has to either stop working or let Joker help him. It’s sickeningly domestic and Bruce kind of loves it. Joker can tell it too, but instead of making fun of Bruce he starts making dinner and orders Bruce to change the sheets when he thinks they get too stuffy to sleep in. Bruce even catches him cleaning the kitchen counters once.

Bruce opens a bottle of wine one evening when Joker isn’t on painkillers anymore, and Joker complains about the lack of a real fireplace. Bruce wishes he could take Joker to the manor and spend a night in front of the old fireplace in the study, maybe with a few blankets and a dozen pillows.

Bruce figures he should’ve know it couldn’t last forever. It’s Friday and Bruce had planned on going to the office for a few hours, and he’d managed to dress appropriately until Joker had called him back to the couch he’d taken over. So Bruce ditched his tie and jacket and went back to Joker without a second thought. It’s not like he was expected at the office anyways and he can always finish reading the reports.

By noon Joker has decided his entertainment of the day is going to be Bruce, and he’s doing his best to make it impossible for Bruce to read through the paperwork on some new project he needs to approve.

“I’m bored. Pay attention to me,” Joker demands and pokes Bruce’s ribs with his toes. Bruce tries to glare at him but the smile tugging at his lips ruins the effect, and after a few minutes of pestering Joker gets Bruce to put down his paperwork.

“Can’t you watch your shows just a little longer?” Bruce asks and Joker shakes his head with a playful smile on his lips.

“I want a kiss first,” Joker replies, and Bruce stares at him with a blank expression for a moment before surging forward and pressing him to the couch. Joker laughs and Bruce muffles the sound with a kiss. Joker sighs against Bruce’s lips  and wraps his arms around his shoulders as Bruce settles on top of him.

Bruce can taste the faint remnants of coffee and chocolate in Joker’s mouth, and Joker moans loud when Bruce thrusts his tongue into his mouth to chase off the taste. Joker’s nails dig into Bruce’s back as he tries to pull him even closer, and Bruce barely has the sense to mind Joker’s injured ribs.

Joker wraps his legs around Bruce and pulls him even closer, and Bruce bites his lips in response, worrying the healing wound on it without breaking the skin. It makes Joker shiver and Bruce gives his lip one more nip before pulling away. Joker whines and grabs Bruce’s shoulders to get him back down, but Bruce sits back up and takes the opportunity to look at Joker spread out in front of him.

“You know, I’ve been giving this a lot of thought,” Joker starts and Bruce pretends to be shocked.

“That’s never good,” he says and Joker digs his knee into his ribs even as a smile spreads on his face.

“I’ve decided I didn’t mind when you called me baby and I won’t mind if you do it again,” Joker says and smiles sweetly up at Bruce and tilts his head. Bruce laughs and shakes his head fondly, and lets Joker pull him back down.

“You’ve been thinking about that for a week?” Bruce asks and Joker nods with a bright grin on his face. Bruce isn’t sure if he believes Joker but it’s not something worth fighting over. Instead he kisses Joker again to end the conversation and Joker is more than happy to let the subject go.

It doesn’t take long for Joker to grow discontent with just kissing, and he runs his hands down Bruce’s sides until he reaches his belt. Bruce takes in a sharp breath, anticipation growing in him fast, and he can’t stop the soft groan escaping his lips when Joker unbuckles his belt and gets his pants open. Then Joker is pushing his hand into Bruce’s pants and wrapping his fingers around Bruce’s hardening cock and he can’t breathe.

Joker grins against Bruce’s lips and starts pumping his hand in a slow, torturous rhythm that knocks every coherent thought out of Bruce’s mind. He’s missed this, almost as much as he’s missed Joker’s presence, and feeling Joker's hands on him after spending weeks thinking it would never happen again is better than Bruce ever thought it would be.

Bruce doesn’t waste any time shoving his own hand into Joker’s sweats, relishing the feel of his cock hard and heavy in his hand. Joker moans and bucks into Bruce’s hand, and it takes all of Bruce’s willpower not to tear their clothes off and bury himself in Joker.

Bruce pulls back when his lungs begin to burn from the lack of oxygen and focuses his attention on Joker’s neck instead, biting and sucking the pale expanse of his skin and memorizing every sound Joker makes. Bruce abandons Joker’s neck after he’s satisfied he’s left enough marks on it, and slides lower on the couch, forcing Joker to draw his hand from Bruce’s cock to both of their displeasure.

Bruce ignores the annoyed whine Joker lets out and pushes his shirt up, and Joker’s complaints turn into a pleased groan when Bruce leans down to press kisses to his heated skin. Joker buries one hand in Bruce’s hair while the other fists in his shirt, pulling it from Bruce’s pants and wrinkling it when Bruce moves to lick along Joker’s hip.

“If you’re not gonna blow me I’m gonna kick your ass,” Joker manages between breaths and Bruce smirks against his skin.

“You should really learn to be more patient,” Bruce replies even as he pushes his hands under Joker and into his pants, and grabs a hold of Joker’s ass. Joker laughs and grinds against Bruce’s hands. Bruce grins and gets back to teasing Joker despite the halfhearted complains he gets for not moving faster.

Bruce is sucking a mark on Joker’s hip and considering the possibility of actually pushing Joker’s pants down when a loud crash from the entrance catches his attention as Joker tenses under him. Bruce’s eyes snap to the source of the crash and suddenly all the color drains from his face. He can barely breathe as he meets Alfred’s wide eyes.

This can’t be happening.

A thousand thoughts fly through Bruce’s head faster than he can comprehend and then his mind goes completely blank. Bruce remains frozen in his spot, his hands still on Joker and his eyes glued to Alfred’s, as he tries to wrap his brain around the fact that Alfred is there.

“Don’t worry!” Joker’s voice breaks through the tense air suddenly, and he raises his hand reassuringly and looks at Alfred with a mockingly solemn expression. “This is exactly what it looks like,” Joker states and Alfred blinks, glancing from Joker to Bruce before picking the paper bag he’d dropped and marching towards the kitchen without a word or a glance in their direction.

Joker erupts is delighted laughter and if Bruce wasn’t so busy trying not to hyperventilate he’d make him shut up. Joker turns his eyes to Bruce and grins brightly and does nothing to suppress his giggling as he tries to pull Bruce into a kiss. 

It snaps Bruce out of his shocked state, and he jolts away from Joker and disentangle their limbs. Joker pouts when Bruce hurries to his feet, and he grabs a hold of Bruce’s arm when he tries to leave. Bruce stumbles and stops, staring at Joker with confused eyes.

“What about my blowjob?” Joker asks and looks at Bruce like he’s doing some great wrong to him. Bruce stares at him in dumbfounded silence for a second before annoyance takes over.

“You’ll get it later,” Bruce replies and starts moving, but Joker grips his arm even tighter and clings to him like his life depends on it. The only reason Bruce doesn’t yank Joker to the ground is that he’s still hurt, and he stops while Joker’s still mostly on the couch.

“I’m going to make sure Alfred won’t call the cops on you. If you stay here and play nice you might get what you want,” Bruce continues while Joker settles back down, and after thinking it over Joker sighs loudly and slumps down on the couch, clearly disappointed with the situation.

Bruce studies Joker for a few seconds longer to make sure he’s going to stay put before rushing after Alfred. When he reaches the kitchen Alfred is unpacking his groceries like nothing had happened. Bruce watches his brisk movements in silence for a moment as he tries to find the words to explain the situation.

Alfred glances at Bruce with a closed off expression on his face as he moves across the kitchen, and it’s the only acknowledgement of Bruce’s presence he gives. Bruce clears his throat and takes a hesitant step towards Alfred, figuring the best thing for everyone is to just get it over with. It’ll be like ripping off a band-aid that’s been superglued to his skin.

“I’d rather not hear any excuses,” Alfred says before Bruce can even open his mouth, and Bruce nods slowly and stays silent. “I’ll accept a truth though.” Alfred levels Bruce with a harsh unreadable look and Bruce nods again. He’s not sure he can give that to Alfred, he’s not sure he even knows what the truth is.

“And you might want to zip your pants up,” Alfred says far too casually as he turns to get the coffee machine on. Bruce balks before glancing down and to his horror he sees his zipper and belt are still undone. Bruce turns red as he hurries to fix the situation, and he prays for the ground to open up and swallow him whole before things get any worse.

Alfred carries on like nothing is out of the ordinary while Bruce fidgets in the middle of the room, trying to figure out what he should say. His mind keeps jumping back to Joker still sprawled on the couch, and the fact that it won’t take long for him to get bored. Bruce needs to get this over with. He sighs and makes a decision, if it’s the truth Alfred wants then that’s what Bruce is going to give him.

“I don’t know what happened. I was in that underground bar months ago trying to find that damn smuggler and Joker just showed up and we got drunk and I let him sleep here and that was it. Then one day he jumped in front of my car after Croc mauled him so I took him to a doctor and then home and he would’ve killed me if I didn’t agree to hang out with him and I just thought-,” Bruce’s voice catches in his throat and he sighs, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He drags his feet to the kitchen island and sits down, burying his face in his hands, suddenly feeling very tired.

”I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure him out for years and I couldn’t, and I just thought I’d see if I could get somewhere with him as Bruce Wayne,” Bruce finishes and runs his hands through his hair, and closes his eyes so he won’t see the look on Alfred’s face.

“And did you get anywhere? Besides his pants?” Alfred’s less than amused voice cuts through the air and Bruce has to make an effort not to flinch. He swallows the guilt and shame and forces himself to look at Alfred who is still wearing that unreadable expression.

“I think so,” Bruce says slowly. He’s not sure if he’s learned anything new about Joker but he feels like in some strange way he knows him better. Alfred nods and turns to the coffee, and Bruce is relieved when Alfred hands him a cup. The next thing Bruce knows is Joker appearing next to him with a too wide grin plastered on his face.

“My coffee senses started tingling,” Joker says like it explains his presence and grins at Alfred. “And before you start with the sassing and the sarcasm you British people are so famous for, just remember that you did just kinda ruin my day,” he continues and his eyes turn mean, and Bruce glares at the side of his face almost like he’s hoping Joker will apologize to Alfred if he just wants it hard enough.

Alfred faces Joker without blinking, and they have a silent staring contest while Bruce considers giving Joker his coffee and getting a new cup as a compromise. Then Alfred moves without a word and gets Joker his own cup before sitting down, cheering Joker up in an instant. Bruce shoos him a grateful look and gets a minute frown that screams disappointment for return.

“So did Brucie tell you what he did?” Joker starts far too excitedly and leans towards Alfred. Bruce looks at Joker with mild curiosity and trepidation while Alfred refuses to talk to him. “He tried to kill me,” Joker continues despite Alfred’s demeanor screaming he doesn’t want to talk to Joker, and Bruce groans and turns to his coffee.

“He did! He pushed me down a flight of stairs. What kind of a crazy person does that? I’m lucky I didn’t die.” Joker looks to Alfred for sympathy with wide eyes, and Bruce has no idea what to do with him.

“I didn’t try to kill you,” Bruce says for what feels like a hundredth time. Alfred raises a politely curious eyebrow and to Bruce’s annoyance it only gets Joker more excited.

“It was horrible. I almost broke my neck. I’m still in pain and he just swans around and tells me to get over it,” Joker says and feigns being hurt while Bruce rubs his temples to ward off the oncoming headache.

“Would you just stop talking for a minute,” Bruce asks and is met with a deeply offended glare from Joker.

“I’m just trying to be nice,” Joker shoots back, and Bruce raises an eyebrow at him and barely suppresses a sardonic smile.

“I am,” Joker insists and his expression turns serious. “I’ve read enough murder mysteries to know that the butler always did it and I’m not gonna end up with a knife in my back in some locked room because I pissed Niles here off.” Bruce stares at him for a second with a blank face before rolling his eyes and glancing at Alfred to make sure he’s still okay.

“Seriously, when I die just write ‘the butler did it’ on my gravestone. It’ll be an eternal reminder of his crimes. And a great final joke, actually. Can you imagine the headlines? ‘Joker murdered by a butler’. Who would’ve seen that one coming?” Joker continues, and Bruce can’t help it, the sincere look on Joker’s face and his words combined with the absurdity of the situation make Bruce laugh. Joker looks shocked for a second before fixing an exaggerated pout on his face but it only serves to make Bruce laugh even harder.

“You see what I have to deal with?” Joker says to Alfred as he throws his arms in the air and turns his back on Bruce who, by that point, is leaning on the island and desperately trying to catch his breath. He’s faintly aware of Alfred’s eyes on him but he’s too busy trying not to laugh at Joker’s act of being offended to pay attention to him.

Bruce takes a deep breath and he’s about to tell Joker to stop being so dramatic when he catches the way Alfred is looking at him, surprised and shocked and almost hopeful, and it makes his words catch in his throat. They stay there, eyes locked, for a second before Alfred sighs and his shoulders slump in something like resignation, and Bruce breathes a little more easily.

“Mind giving us a moment?” Bruce pokes Joker’s shoulder to get his attention, and Joker turns to look at him with an unimpressed face.

“Why should I?” Joker counters and raises a pointed eyebrow. Bruce almost rolls his eyes but with Alfred observing their every move he doesn’t feel like annoying Joker any more than he already has.

“Just humor me,” Bruce says and keeps his expression open while Joker studies his face.

“Fine. But you owe me,” Joker concedes eventually and limps out of the kitchen with his coffee cup in his hands. Bruce considers it a small miracle that everything is going okay that far, and he turns to face Alfred with a bit more optimistic attitude than before.

“Does he know?” Alfred asks quietly when Joker is out of sight and Bruce’s mood crashes again. He doesn’t need to ask to know what Alfred is talking about.

“No,” Bruce admits and glues his eyes to his coffee cup.

“You’ll have to tell him before he figures it out on his own,” Alfred says and Bruce knows he’s right, but he doesn’t want to think about it. He likes how they are as Bruce and Joker, and he doesn’t want to ruin that by adding Batman to the mix. He still nods to let Alfred know his words have been heard.

“You will have to tell the other about him. It’ll be better if they hear it from you and not find out about this on their own,” Alfred continues and Bruce groans. He hadn’t even thought about that yet. Or if he was honest he had thought about it for a minute before ignoring that particular horror show to the best of his abilities.

“They’ll hate me,” Bruce mutters as Alfred finishes his cup of coffee,

“Probably. But they’ll never forgive you if you don’t tell them the truth.” Bruce knows Alfred is right but it doesn’t make it any easier.

“What about you?” Bruce asks in an attempt to change the subject. Alfred eyes Bruce for a moment before answering.

“I will tolerate this mess as long as he poses no threat to anyone. But I will not accept or condone your relationship,” Alfred replies eventually, his voice hard and expression serious. It’s more than Bruce hoped for and he nods, unsure of how to respond.

“Now, I will go and inform Tim you’re still alive. He’s been concerned since you haven’t been put for a quite a few nights,” Alfred says and gets up. 

“I just didn’t think I should leave Joker alone with a concussion,” Bruce explains. “And I couldn’t really leave without him noticing anyways.” Alfred nods with something akin to understanding in his eyes and he leaves Bruce alone with his thoughts and his slowly cooling coffee.

* * *

 

 

Bruce manages to avoid Joker for an hour before he can’t justify being alone anymore, and he’s distant for the rest of the day. Joker grows more frustrated with him as the day goes by and by evening he looks like he’s ready to punch Bruce at the slightest provocation.

“How do you feel about meeting my family?” Bruce asks tentatively while Joker sprawls on the living room floor, flipping through the TV channels too fast to really see what’s on them. Bruce isn’t sure he’ll ever actually let Joker around his family but it’s a good place to start approaching the subject anyways. He needs to be sure Joker won’t shoot them on sight if they ever meet.

“I’m not playing house with you,” Joker replies without turning to face Bruce and he does nothing to hide the annoyance in his voice.

“I’m not expecting you to,” Bruce says and chews his lip as he tries to figure out what to say.

“I just don’t like keeping secrets from them” Bruce continues eventually, and Joker laughs as he turns to look at Bruce over his shoulder.

“You didn’t have a problem with that before. You wanna feel better about your sorry life is what you want,” Joker retorts. Bruce knows joker is trying to provoke and he refuses to fall for it, instead he leans forward on the couch, smiling indulgently at Joker and holding his gaze without hesitation.

“I don’t want to hide you in my own home,” Bruce corrects him. Joker scoffs and turns his attention back to the television, and after a few seconds of watching the commercials he goes back to switching between channels at rapid speed.

Bruce lets the matter go, and for a second he entertains the idea of telling Joker the truth about Batman but drops it. He’ll need Joker in a good mood for that. If he’ll ever tell him the truth in the first place.

“Do whatever you want as long as I’m not gonna end up locked up for it,” Joker says eventually. He doesn’t sound like he cares if Bruce tells his family about them or not, but Bruce knows better than to take anything he says at face value. He’ll need to bring that possibility up again when Joker’s mood is a little better.

“We could put on a movie if you can’t pick a channel. Or we could do something else,” Bruce says when he gets tired of the headache inducing changing of the channels.

“You know what? I’m getting tired of this domestic stuff,” Joker replies as he sits up and stretches his arms as much as he can with his injuries, and turns to give Bruce an impassive look. “Either come up with something fun or take me home,” he continues. Bruce keeps his appearance calm and relaxed as he considers Joker’s words.

There’s not really much Bruce can suggest outside of going out that would make Joker happy, but he doubts taking him out when he’s got so much pent up energy would be a good idea. Bruce will have to do something about that before releasing Joker into the world once more.

“What non-domestic thing do you want to do?” Bruce asks after a moment and Joker rolls his eyes in response.

“I dunno,” Joker replies and Bruce gets the impression he’s being purposefully unhelpful.

“Just put on some movie that’s so horrible it’s fun and I’ll make us some popcorn,” Bruce says, trying not to let his frustration seep through his voice.

“You wanna Netflix and chill?” Joker raises an unimpressed eyebrow but the smile tugging at his lips betrays his amusement and Bruce relaxes a little.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” he says and Joker’s expression turns from bored to offended so fast Bruce can’t even begin to figure out what he’s done wrong now.

“You can’t Netflix and chill with a bad movie! f I put on Sharknado you’re gonna sit there and watch the whole thing without complaining,” Joker says and crosses his arms, daring Bruce to argue with him.

“Fine.” Bruce gets up and offers Joker a smile before going to the kitchen to get the popcorn done, hoping Joker puts his movie up while he’s away. He takes his time in the kitchen, mostly to give Joker the time to get over himself and set the movie up.

Bruce understands that Joker is feeling anxious after being locked up in Arkham and then having to stay in the penthouse, but Bruce had expected him to control himself for a few days more. Or maybe it would’ve been best if Joker had gone home before he got frustrated with their current arrangements. Maybe Bruce shouldn’t have gotten quite so comfortable with Joker around.

It takes Bruce almost ten minutes to get back to the living room with the popcorn, and to his relief Joker has migrated to the couch with his movie of choice at ready. Bruce places the bowl on the table and sits next to Joker, and waits patiently until Joker feels ready to start the movie.

Joker doesn’t talk during the movie like he usually does, and it’s not making it any easier for Bruce to focus on the screen. Bruce suspects Joker picked the worst movie he could think of in such a short time, but he still sits through the hour and a half of poor CGI sharks and bad acting, but in the end he decides it’s worth it when Joker  forgets he’s supposed to be upset and falls to the floor in a fit of laughter, and Bruce has to admit the movie is mildly amusing in its own special way.

“Even you can’t say that’s not fun,” Joker says as he pulls himself to lean on Bruce’s knee, and Bruce regards at him with a contemplative look as he wonders if he should humor Joker or not.

“Can’t really say I’ve seen worse,” Bruce says and Joker rolls his eyes. Bruce tangles his fingers in Joker’s hair and smiles when Joker leans into the touch.

“You’re a film snob. Bet you don’t watch anything that hasn’t been praised to hell and back by critics with preferably two Oscars tied to it.” Joker would be more convincing if he wasn’t melting against Bruce’s hand. Bruce doesn’t correct him though he could say he just hasn’t got that much time to watch silly movies when he’s running a multimillion dollar company. Not to mention his nightly activities but Joker doesn’t have to know about those just yet.

“I’m hoping to fill every rich asshole cliche there is,” Bruce says eventually and Joker laughs, and to Bruce’s relief his bad mood seems to have disappeared for good.

“You’re too nice for that,” Joker laughs. Bruce almost tells him he’s wrong but thinks better of it, but Joker still catches the brief hesitation. Bruce should really have learned how good Joker is at that already.

“Nothing wrong with being nice. It’s cute,” Joker continues and pushes Bruce’s knee with his forehead. Bruce almost expects him to start purring.

Suddenly Joker springs up without a warning and stretches his back so that his spine pops loudly from the strain, and Bruce kind of wants to tell him to mind his injuries. Joker ruffles his hair as he looks around the room before turning to face Bruce with a smile on his face.

“I wanna watch another one,” Joker says and bats his eyes at Bruce, and Bruce tries not to roll his eyes at him.

“As long as it’s not that bad,” Bruce replies. Joker scowls for a second before grinning and nodding, and Bruce lets him pick another movie without a word. Bruce doesn’t point out that despite Joker’s earlier complaints about domesticity he doesn’t seem to have any problems with a movie night. Bruce doesn’t mind it, it’s definitely a better option than having Joker be upset or leaving the penthouse.

Joker settles on the next movie that turns out to be some generic horror movie, and he sits back to his spot next to Bruce before hitting play. After a few minutes Bruce pulls Joker to his side and takes the chance to enjoy the warmth of Joker’s body pressed against his.

Bruce doesn’t complain when Joker puts on another movie when the previous one ends, and when Joker pulls Bruce to rest his head on his lap Bruce does so willingly. He closes his eyes, intending to rest them for a few minutes before returning his attention to the television screen, but Joker’s hand in his hair, rubbing soothing circles on his scalp, relax him to the point he falls asleep.

When Bruce wakes up the room is dark and there’s a severe lack of Joker in his presence. Bruce groans and makes a face at the stuffy taste in his mouth as he gets up. Joker has probably moved to the kitchen or bedroom, so Bruce doesn’t worry about his absence too much. He prioritizes getting a glass of water over finding Joker so he heads to the kitchen half expecting to find Joker sipping hot chocolate while trolling people on the internet, but Joker is nowhere to be seen. Bruce doesn’t think much of it as he gets his glass of water, figuring he’ll find Joker when he goes to bed.

Bruce takes his time making his way to the bedroom, and to his surprise Joker isn’t there either. Bruce stops in the middle of the room for a second just to take the situation in before shaking his head and going to brush his teeth. He’s got no idea where Joker might have gone, but he’s not going to go through the penthouse in search of him until he’s gotten the terrible taste out of his mouth.

Bruce gets to the bathroom and he’s entertaining the idea of tying Joker up so he won’t be able to disappear again when he spots a pink post-it note stuck on the mirror. Bruce has no idea where he got it but he knows Joker left it there, and he stops at the door and sighs. He knows Joker has left the penthouse even before he reads the note, but he still makes his way to it and pulls it off the mirror.

_ went to find my phone _

_ brb _

_ love you :) _

Bruce stares at the note for a long moment before stuffing it into his pocket and brushing his teeth with a little bit more force than necessary.

Bruce doesn’t fall asleep again even though he lies down on his bed and closes his eyes and tries to empty his mind even for a few minutes. He’s waiting for Joker to come back and expecting him to not show up. Time drags on so slowly Bruce almost believes it has stopped, and after two hours he gives up trying to get even a second of sleep. Bruce huffs and sits up, running his hands through his hair and cursing Joker for being as infuriating as he is.

Bruce gets up and heads to the kitchen, deciding there’s no reason he can’t get a cup of coffee since there’s no way he’s going to get any sleep. He knows Joker has gotten his phone back already unless Jonny has left the city with it which seems highly unlikely. Joker might have decided he’s tired of being cooped up and gone home, or he might be with friends, though Bruce is still a bit unsure if he has those. He spends time with Harley and he seemed to get along with Nygma but Bruce has no idea if that counts as friendship when Joker is involved.

The coffee proves to be much more appealing than wondering where Joker has disappeared to so Bruce fills his favorite cup and gets the last of the pastries Alfred had brought, and wanders to the living room. Bruce pushes the empty popcorn bowl out of his way and places his breakfast on the table before turning the TV on. He might as well watch the morning news while he’s at it.

Bruce settles on the couch with his coffee and searches for a channel that’s showing the news at that hour. He finds one easily enough, and he’s a little surprised to see Vicki Vale up so early. He’s even more surprised there’s a hostage situation going on in the GCPD.

“At this moment, two hours after the hostage situation started, we’ve been informed that the situation is caused by Harley Quinn and The Scarecrow attempting a breakout, assisted by The Riddler, Poison Ivy and Joker. We’ll keep you informed of the situation as it progresses,” Vicki says, her voice clear and stern, matching the serious expression on her face.

Bruce’s surprise has turned to annoyance and frustration, and he’s barely keeping his anger at bay. Joker couldn’t go even a couple of hours without getting into trouble, and Bruce isn’t even surprised by it anymore. It also explains why Joker hadn’t come back yet.

Vicki is wrapping up her report when a loud explosion drowns her voice. Bruce sits up straighter, his eyes glued to the TV screen where Vicki is trying to get someone to tell her what just happened. Bruce’s phone starts ringing at the same moment, and he pulls it out to see who is calling. He’s not surprised to see Alfred’s name on the screen, though he’s not sure if he’s ready for the looks and tone Alfred will be giving him, or the possible  _ I told you so  _ Alfred might throw his way.

Bruce steels himself and answers it anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? I can do domestic! I think.. I don't usually write a lot of domestic stuff so this was fun to do. Also a fun fact; the bit with Alfred was like the second or third thing I wrote down when I started this. I don't know why but I just wanted to scar him for life.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got tired of school so you're getting this one a bit earlier than planned. I'm gonna go get back to my literature assignment now :)

By the time Bruce is ready to put on his batsuit and rush to the GCPD Joker has already flooded the building with his laughing gas and Ivy has released her plants, and they have grabbed Harley and Crane and left the scene in a flurry of explosions and gunfire. In a twist of irony Joker’s gas has killed Ivy’s plants, and her plants have punched holes to the walls that allowed the gas to leak out of the building much faster than it otherwise would have. Despite the lucky break there’s still reports of deaths and people being rushed to hospitals, and Bruce asks Barbara to analyze the toxin Joker had used in case it’s a new formula and the hospitals don’t have the antidote at ready.

Bruce spends the rest of the day waiting for Joker to come back or make some kind of contact before accepting that won’t happen and officially moving back to the manor. It means living under Alfred’s disappointed eyes but Bruce tells himself he deserves it, and he takes his silent punishment without a word of complaint.

Tim immediately notices something is off, and when he asks about it Bruce shrugs it off and pretends he doesn’t see Alfred narrowing his eyes at him. Bruce is too busy dealing with the mess Joker and his gang left at GCPD to deal with Alfred’s displeasure at him. He plans to get the criminals back in Arkham when he realizes he’ll have to address the current situation in there as well, and for once he’s happy to have the distraction. He calls Barbara to see if she’s got anything new for him on that front, and she tells him she’s working on a new lead. Once that’s dealt with he redirects his attention to the task at hand.

“Do we have any leads?” Tim asks behind Bruce’s shoulder, pulling on the last pieces of his suit on. Alfred perks up and turns to look at Bruce with expectant eyes, and Bruce sighs.

“We’re going to see if Ivy’s returned to her gardens yet. Harley might be with her so we’ll need to watch out for her too,” Bruce replies without removing his attention from the computer screen where the analysis of the toxins Joker had used is showing Bruce exactly what he doesn’t want to see. It’s a new strain of the gas. Bruce has no idea when Joker cooked it up and he’s not sure he wants to know, but he’ll have to get a clean sample from Joker somehow.

“Send this to Barbara and ask her to see if there’s anything we have that might help against it,” Bruce tells Alfred and motions towards the screen as he gets up and heads to the car with Tim in tow.

“Consider it done,” Alfred says and takes Bruce’s place at the computer.

“So, the gardens,” Tim starts when the car reaches the road. Bruce glances at him without replying, waiting for him to continue. “Would’ve thought you’d go after Joker and get the toxin first,” Tim say eventually as he fixes his sharp eyes at the side of Bruce’s face.

“He used a new compound so he knows that’s what I’d logically do. He’s gone underground. We need to get to Harley to find him,” Bruce explains. He’s noticed Tim’s increased curiosity concerning Joker after his kidnapping and he’s not sure where it’s coming from but he’d rather have it gone.

“So we find Harley, get her to tell us where Joker is, and then we get the sample,” Tim says and nods to himself. Bruce doesn’t miss the implication he’d be coming along with Bruce to find Joker, but he chooses not to point it out.

“That’s the plan,” Bruce replies and observes Tim’s reaction from the corner of his eye. Tim seems a little surprised Bruce didn’t tell him he’s not welcome to get Joker, but he hides it well.

“But if Harley and Joker broke up how would she know where he is?” Tim asks after a minute of silence.

“They did, but they still share their hideouts and Harley knows where he might go. She spent years with him and she knows how he thinks,” Bruce replies.

“So do you,” Tim points out.

“I don’t know where all his hideouts are,” Bruce says with a voice that marks the end of the conversation. He has no interest in talking about Joker at that moment, he’d rather focus on the task at hand and get to Ivy and Harley as soon as possible.

“But what if Harley went with Joker?” Tim asks after a few minutes, and Bruce has to admit it’s a valid question and a possibility he’d rather not think about.

“She didn’t. They’re not together anymore and I doubt they want to be around each other that much,” he replies and hopes he’s right. If Harley isn’t with Ivy then the fifteen police officers at Gotham Memorial are going to die.

They reach the old botanical garden at the outskirts of the city, and Bruce parks the car at a safe distance so they won’t be spotted immediately. Tim stays a few steps behind Bruce as they take the back entrance to the garden. They have to improvise a little when they reach an overgrown bush blocking their way, but they manage to get around it without actually harming the plant. Bruce isn’t sure if it’s one of Ivy’s but he’s not risking it, and Tim follows his lead like he always does.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to do that,” Harley’s voice breaks through the air and Bruce stills. He listens to more voices but nothing follows Harley’s statement, and Bruce motions Tim to take the other side of the room when they reach a large opening that used to be the center of the garden. Now it’s overgrown with wild plants that have broken through the glass ceiling and walls, but in the middle of it all is an open space where Harley stands with her arms crossed, staring at Ivy and Selina with an offended look on her face. Bruce wasn’t expecting to see Selina there and he’s not sure if it’s a good thing or not, but right now he’s more concerned with how sick Ivy looks.

“I’m going in. Watch my back,” Bruce says to Tim over the comms and walks towards the trio, his steps slow and calm so they’ll have a chance to see him coming. Sure enough Harley spots him almost immediately, and she takes in a sharp breath as her face twists in anger. Selina’s head whips around to see what Harley spotted, her whip at ready at her hand.

“I’m not here to fight,” Bruce says even as he prepares for an attack.

“Yeah right. And I don’t have a psychotic ex,” Harley shoots back and tenses, ready to pounce the second Bruce gets close enough.

“What’s wrong with her?” Bruce asks, directing the question at Selina rather than Harley and nodding towards Ivy.

“Joker released a toxin that’s making her sick,” Selina answers. Bruce circles the space until he gets a clear look at Ivy who is sitting on the ground and glaring up at him. She’s having some trouble breathing and her skin is taking a grayish tint to it, and while Bruce doesn’t like seeing her sick it might be an advantage to him. Bruce turns his attention back to Harley and levels her with a serious glare.

“I need to find Joker,” he states with a voice that leaves no room for argument, and Harley laughs.

“If you think that just ‘cause we broke up I’m gonna tell on him you’re wrong. I wouldn’t do that to him,” she says and sneers at Bruce as she saunters to stand  between him and Ivy.

“Ivy will die if I don’t find him.” Bruce doesn’t miss the way Harley stops at his words, though she pulls herself together fairly quickly.

“Go to hell,” Harley snarls and starts towards Bruce. Tim tackles her before she can take three steps, and Bruce gives him a brief nod before focusing his attention to Selina and Ivy.

“I can get you the antidote if you tell me what you know,” he says, and at least Selina and Ivy seem to consider it while Tim wrestles Harley to the ground. Bruce is fairly certain he’ll win without any help.

“We don’t know where he is. He took off with Nygma and Crane,” Ivy says, observing Tim and Harley’s struggle with mild interest.

Tim wins eventually, and though he’s out of breath and has a busted lip he manages a victorious grin while Harley screams against the grass her face is pressed into. Tim waits until she calms down before letting her up and putting a safe distance between them. Bruce can’t really blame him for it, Harley can be unpredictable when she gets angry.

“Just tell them where he is so we can get Ivy fixed,” Selina orders and levels Harley with a harsh glare before her features soften and turn almost apologetic.

“I dunno where he is,” Harley sighs and her shoulders slump. Bruce gives her a moment to take in the facts before taking a step towards her.

“You know where he would go if he was hiding. I can’t help Ivy if you don’t give me something to work with,” he says, and Harley seems to finally hear him.

“He might’ve gone to the abandoned subway. It’s a big place and the old stations have plenty of places to hide. They’re pretty cozy too. Or you could talk to his boyfriend,” she says with a shrug.

”He really got a boyfriend?” Selina injects and Harley nods enthusiastically.

“He’s cute too,” she replies and gets Selina to roll her eyes. Bruce is glad his cowl hides his blush. “You dated him too,” Harley continues and Bruce tenses. He can’t let her actually mention his name. He’s so worried over what Harley might say he almost misses the way her face falls before she breaks out in loud laughter, pointing at Selina and making sounds that might be words between breaths.

“I wish I could see Mistah J’s face when he realizes you two have the same type,” Harley manages and the way Selina’s face twists almost makes Bruce smile.

“We don’t,” she argues but Harley’s not listening to her.

“I’ve dated both of you and you both go after him for some reason,” Harley says and points towards Bruce as she shakes her head with a frown on her face. Selina looks horrified at the notion and it only fuels Harley further. She takes a deep breath but Bruce beats her to it, deciding he’s let her talk more than he probably should’ve already.

“I’ll come back when I have the cure. Stay here,” he stays, his voice a bit too strong, but it shuts Harley up and that’s what he wanted. Bruce walks away from the trio, trusting Tim to follow his example, and he almost regrets not knocking Harley out when he hears her start talking about Selina’s dating history again. They get out of earshot before she can mention Bruce Wayne which Bruce considers a nice stroke of luck.

“So now what? We just leave them there?” Tim asks when they reach the car, and Bruce gets in before  answering.

“You’ll go see if Gordon needs any help while I track Joker down. Once we have the antidote we take those three in,” Tim nods and leaves it at that, and Bruce drops him off near the precinct Gordon is holed up in. Then he finds a safe place to leave the car and focuses on finding Joker.

 

* * *

 

Bruce spends a few hours combing through the abandoned subway before deciding to try something else and calling Joker under the pretense of checking to see if he’s alright. The phone rings for a small eternity before Joker’s cheery voice comes through right before Bruce was about to hang up.

“What’s up cupcake? Miss me already?” Bruce rolls his eyes and focuses on the background noises coming through the line.

“Not really. Just making sure you’re still alive. I saw the news,” Bruce replies and smirks a little at the huff of breath Joker lets out. Bruce stops when he hears a truck passing near Joker, and after a second of being annoyed with wasting time in underground he heads back to the surface.

“What can I say? A friend needed help, I helped. I’m great that way,” Joker says and Bruce can practically hear the shrug in his voice.

“Do I needed to point out the body count?” Bruce keeps his voice carefully neutral but Joker still groans, and Bruce almost expects him to hang up the phone.

“Details. Who cares about those?” Joker says. Bruce almost answers him when he hears the distinct sound of a train passing near Joker. He rushes to the nearest exit as quickly and quietly as possible, and reaches the surface in record time, enjoying the fresh wind hitting his face after the still air of the subway.

“Most people would. You know you’re probably going to get thrown back to Arkham?” Bruce says and to his surprise Joker laughs it off.

“Oh sweetie, don’t you worry your pretty head about that. I’m not going anywhere.” The certainty in Joker’s voice makes chills run down Bruce’s spine and his steps falters for a second. He hears what sounds like a crane being operated and a flock of seagulls over the line, and Bruce starts to get an idea of where Joker is.

“If you say so,” Bruce replies. He’s fully intending to put Joker’s statement to a test as soon as possible, he’s not about to let Joker get away with mass murder unless he has no other choice. He has to draw the line somewhere.

“I do, just trust me,” Joker says and hangs up. Bruce doesn’t mind, he takes the opportunity to hurry to his car and speed towards Port Adams. If he’s right Joker is somewhere around there.

Bruce leaves the car near the gates, not caring if Joker hears him coming. He needs to work fast and find Joker and get the antidote done before Joker’s victims in the hospital die. Bruce stays away from the few workers still present and gets on top of the containers to scan the area for Joker, and though he can’t see him he knows he’s there. It’s almost instinctual, more of a feeling in his gut than anything, but he’s come to trust it over the years.

Sure enough Bruce soon spots the familiar sight of Joker’s purple trench coat disappearing behind a stack of containers. Bruce follows him, sticking on the top of the containers so he’ll have an advantage over Joker in case he’ll need one. He rounds a corner and hops over the narrow gap between two rows of containers, intending to get ahead of Joker, but Joker has disappeared. It’s something Bruce should’ve expected him to do but it still catches him off guard.

Bruce drops down to the ground and scans the area, and it doesn’t take him long to spot the cracked container door with a shimmer of light shining from it. Bruce sneaks closer and tries to get a look inside the container, but all he can see is a light from what he assumes is a flashlight. Bruce decides to risk it and cracks the door open and steps inside only to find the container empty. The source of light is indeed a small flashlight, hastily taped to the door just out of sight, and Bruce realizes too late it’s a trap.

He doesn’t get a chance to turn around before a sharp pain shoots through his side. He swirls around and drives his fist into Joker’s face hard, knocking him off balance and sending him crashing to the wall. Bruce pulls the short knife off his back and throws it across the container while Joker regains his composure and spits out blood. Bruce shoves Joker against the cold metal wall and pins him to it by pressing his forearm on Joker’s throat, not even bothering to play nice this time around.

“Where is the toxin?” Bruce demands and presses Joker to the wall a little harder, cutting off his air. Joker chokes and Bruce keeps the pressure up for a few more seconds before easing off.

“And why’d I tell you that?” Joker counters and flashes Bruce a gleeful smile.

“Because if you don’t I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” Joker interrupts him and his grin turns cruel. “Break every bone in my body? Send me to the ER? Or Arkham? You really think that’ll make me talk?” Joker shakes his head as much as he can, looking at Bruce like he’s an idiot.

“It’ll make me feel better,” Bruce growls and like he expected Joker laughs.

“Tell that to the cops dying in the hospital. Or better yet, tell that to their families after they die,” Joker says, and no matter how much Bruce might wish it wasn’t true he knows he can’t hurt Joker without risking him shutting up about the toxin. He knows Joker will gladly spend months in a full body cast if it means winning in his games.

“What do you want?” Bruce asks eventually.

“The ability to breathe would be a nice start,” Joker replies and glances down at Bruce’s arm still pressing to his throat, and after a few seconds of contemplation Bruce eases off of him. Joker takes a deep, exaggerated breath and slips away from Bruce, and skips to where his knife is laying on the ground.

“Now what else do I want? Maybe a cappuccino? Or maybe my knife back?” Joker shoots a pointed look at Bruce over his shoulder before picking the knife on the ground up. Bruce had forgotten all about the one still in his possession, and he’ll have to make a point to remember to get it back to Joker.

“You’ll get it when the people you sent to the ER are safe,” Bruce replies like he hasn’t just been off guard.

“And what if I’m not gonna tell you the super secret location of my super cool new gas tanks unless get it back?” Joker counters. Bruce stays silent. He considers the possibility of getting Joker’s knife and giving it back to him. It wouldn’t take too long to get it, but he’d rather not spend valuable time driving back to the manor and then back to the city.

“Or do you think you got something else I might want?” Joker levels Bruce with an amused look and raises an expectant eyebrow, and Bruce is beginning to understand why Joker was so sure he’s not going back to Arkham. Bruce stays silent while Joker walks up to him.

“You gonna give me a kiss if I play nice?” Joker asks and presses himself against Bruce’s chest, and Bruce almost drives his fist into Joker’s ribs out of annoyance and frustration before he remembers his still healing injuries. Joker still catches the way Bruce starts before stopping, and he narrows his eyes and tilts his head curiously. Bruce bites his tongue and stills himself, refusing to budge under Joker’s sharp gaze. Then Joker laughs quietly and backs off, looking at Bruce with an expression he can’t read.

“Catch,” Joker says when he reaches the other end of the container, and before Bruce can figure out what he means Joker throws a smoke grenade at his feet. Green smoke engulfs Bruce’s legs and he dives out of the container before the laughing gas can have any effect on him, and he ends up coughing and taking in gulps of fresh air far away from the toxic smoke coming from the container. He barely sees Joker sprint down the narrow corridor and disappear yet again.

Bruce has to circle around the smoke as he rushes after Joker, and to his relief the wind from the sea disperses the smoke cloud almost immediately. He orders Barbara to tap into every camera around and find Joker while he canvases the maze, trying to catch even a glimpse of the purple coat that’s usually relatively easy to see in the darkness of the night.

“He’s by the gates,” Barbara’s voice comes through the comms a minute later and Bruce rushes across the shipyard as fast as he can with having a bleeding wound on his side.

“Down the alley across the road,” Barbara instructs Bruce and he hurries across the road once he reaches it and into the dark alleyway that smells like something died in there. Bruce moves as quickly as he dares on light feet, keeping a close eye on the shadows in case Joker is hiding there.

Bruce spots Joker as he’s about to hop the rusty fence at the very end of the alley, and Bruce charges at him and throws him against the damp brick wall and pins him down. Joker laughs and raises his hands in surrender. Bruce wouldn’t buy it even if Joker didn’t have that insincere smile on his face.

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t make you eat through a straw for the next six months,” Bruce growls and towers over Joker, putting every inch he has on him to use even though he knows the tactic won’t work on Joker.

“Because if you do I’m never gonna give you the toxin you want so much. Duh.” Joker rolls his eyes and gives Bruce a disappointed head shake. Bruce considers Joker for a moment before leaning back minutely to show Joker he won that round.

“Now, the question is what do I get in return of that gas. Any suggestions?” Joker crosses his arms and leans on the wall far more casually than Bruce thinks is necessary.

Bruce isn’t sure what he can offer Joker that would be worth the satisfaction of seeing the officers at the hospitals slowly choke to death in their medically induced comas. Joker keeps studying Bruce while he tries to come up with something worth saying, and though he could remind Joker of their relationship and what he’s risking Bruce thinks it’s not the best move at that time. The wound on his side aches and Bruce can feel the warm blood seep through his armor, and he thinks he might have worsened the damage when he ran after Joker.

“If you can’t come up with anything then maybe we could take this silent treatment to Gotham General so I can see those fine officers die. For science of course. I didn’t fill GCPD with experimental toxins for fun you know,” Joker says, causing Bruce to tense. “Who am I kidding? It was hilarious.” Joker laughs and locks his eyes with Bruce’s and Bruce knows that particular gleam in them brings nothing but danger.

“Give me the toxin and I’ll let you walk,” Bruce says before Joker can get another word out. “And you’re going to stay in whatever hole you crawl into when you’re not in Arkham and stay there,” he continues even though he knows there’s no way Joker will actually go into hiding. He just wants Joker to know how little patience he has left for his antics after his last few stunts. Joker regards him with a thoughtful expression and Bruce makes a point of staying still under the sharp gaze.

“You’re still pissed about the birdie? That was over a month ago. You really need to learn to let things go,” Joker says and he looks so sincere Bruce wants to scream.

“How is the kid, by the way? Still running across rooftops in tights?” Joker grins and something in Bruce snaps. His fist connects with the brick wall barely two inches from Joker’s face, sending pieces of the wall flying on Joker’s shoulder and face.

Joker freezes and Bruce takes some pleasure in the shocked look on his face, and the sudden silence that falls around them is loaded and heavy, and neither one of them dares to break it. A part of Bruce wants to apologize for lashing out, he didn’t mean to lose his control, and it’s not Joker’s fault Bruce has made a point of avoiding thinking about what he’d done to Tim, partly because he wants to forget it ever happened since Tim is fine, and partly because he doesn’t want to think about his lover hurting one of his kids.

Bruce pulls his hand back and relaxes his stance slightly, and he waits while Joker processes the situation. Bruce takes the opportunity to calm his own mind, he has to keep himself under control if he wants to get the toxin from Joker.

“So we’re not talking about the baby bird?” Joker asks eventually, his voice bordering on cautious.

“No,” Bruce replies and gets a nod in response.

“You get the gas and I get to go on my merry way?” Joker asks next, and it’s Bruce’s turn to nod. Joker hums and considers it, and dusts the rubble off of his shoulders.

“Now the problem with that plan is that I just threw the last bit of that stuff at you,” Joker says slowly, his eyes fixed on Bruce like he’s expecting the next hit to land on his face.

“I needed to test that stuff somehow and GCPD was the best choice. I didn’t make much in case it would suck. Though I should’ve known it would be good. I made it,” Joker says and raises a hand before Bruce can say or do anything.

“I do have a vial of not quite finished serum but you’ll have to finish it,” Joker continues and Bruce resists the urge to cross his arms.

“You’ll just have to add a bit of nitrous oxide and keep it in a pressurized container, nothing harder than that. Try not to breathe it in, but if you do please take a video of it and send it to me. I’d love to see you get a case of the giggles.” Bruce ignores Joker’s happy grin and makes a mental note of the instructions, and nods once.

“Great! The vial is in the old lab in Old Gotham Crane used a while back. Figured you wouldn’t go poking around places you already know about,” Joker says and shoos Bruce away.

“No go play hero,” he orders, and after regarding Joker for a moment longer Bruce steps back and turns to leave. He gets about halfway down the alley before Joker stops him.

“You just have to ask, you know,” Joker says casually and Bruce almost ignores him, but his curiosity gets the better of him and he turns around.

“Ask what?” Bruce frowns even though Joker can’t see it, and waits for the answer despite the voice in the back of his mind urging him to hurry and get the antidote ready.

“Ask me to leave him,” Joker clarifies and it takes Bruce by surprise. This far Joker has flaunted the relationship he has with Bruce Wayne in Batman’s face, trying to stir jealousy in him, but Bruce realizes Joker hasn’t done that once during the night, and this is a whole new direction in their insane love triangle.

“I’d do it if you’d ask,” Joker continues, and there’s something almost hesitant in his voice.

“Did something happen?” Bruce asks and takes a small step towards Joker. If he’s screwed up somehow he’d like to know, and if this is just one of Joker’s games he needs to know that too. Joker chews his lip as his brow furrows slightly, and he crosses his arms as if to protect himself from something.

“Nothing happened,” Joker sighs eventually. “Everything’s peachy. I just... If you’d ask.” Joker goes back to chewing his lip and shrugs dismissively. Bruce stares at him and tries to figure out what Joker is up to now. His behavior is strange for their relationship, it’s more suited for his interactions with Bruce Wayne, and Bruce has no idea how to deal with it as Batman.

“I won’t,” Bruce replies eventually, his voice tense, and throws Joker one last confused glance before hurrying away from him.

 

* * *

 

Bruce finds the vial easily enough, and he gets it to the bat cave, telling Tim to keep the city in one piece for a few hours while he gets the antidote ready. He follows Joker’s instructions and finishes the laughing gas, something he never thought he’d be doing. Maybe it was Joker’s plan from the start and he’s off somewhere laughing at the idea of Batman creating deadly chemicals.

“Perhaps, if you told the clown the truth we could avoid needless stabbings in the future,” Alfred says after he’s stitched the wound on Bruce’s side, and Bruce groans and wishes Alfred never found out about him and Joker. It’s giving Alfred way too much power over him.

“I’ll think about it,” Bruce replies, and maybe he should really start considering it as a serious possibility. If he doesn’t deal with the whole Batman issue it might explode in his face and that would not end well for anyone.

“I just don’t know how he’ll react,” Bruce sighs, and though he’d never admit it he kind of hopes Alfred will tell him what to do.

“Considering he’s always wanted a more romantic relationship with Batman he might take it rather well,” Alfred says and though Bruce can see his point he doubts that would happen.

“He’ll think I’ve lied to him and played him,” he points out. Alfred regards him for a moment before sighing and shaking his head. He seems weary all of the sudden and Bruce begins to regret saying anything.

“Will it be worse than him finding out you kept something this big from him?” Alfred asks eventually. Bruce shrugs, unsure of how to reply, and focuses his attention on the computer screen and the analysis of Joker’s latest toxin he’s running. He’ll worry about the mess of a relationship he’s gotten into when there aren’t people dying in a hospital.

Alfred stays by his side for a few minutes longer before quietly slipping away.

The computer finishes the analysis and Bruce hurries to get the antidote ready. He doesn’t bother telling Alfred where he’s going when he speeds out of the cave and heads towards the hospital, but he does call Tim and tells him to meet him there. If they’re lucky they can get Harley, Ivy and Selina behind bars before the night is over.

 

* * *

 

Tim is at the hospital when Bruce reaches it, and together they take the antidote to the doctors and wait to make sure it works. Tim shifts his weight from one foot to another and Bruce wonders if it’s because he’s anxious to see if the antidote works or because he’s been giving Bruce subtle, unreadable glances ever since they entered the building. He expects Tim to say what he has to say once they get back to the car.

To everyone’s relief the antidote works, albeit slowly, and Bruce leads Tim to the car and they head back to the botanical garden as fast as the traffic allows. Tim bites his lip and glances at Bruce a few times, and Bruce is almost tempted to stop the car and ask him what’s wrong. They can’t take on Harley, Ivy and Selina at the same time if they have something else in their mind. Tim seems to come to the same conclusion, and he takes a deep breath and visibly braces himself for a backslash for whatever he’s about to say.

“So how was Joker? Did you catch him?” Tim starts and his voice is steady despite his obvious nervousness.

“He gave me the toxin on the condition that I’d let him go,” Bruce replies. Tim remains quiet for a few seconds while he mulls over Bruce’s words.

“It doesn’t bother you he’s still out there?” Tim asks, and Bruce doesn’t have to turn to look at him to know he’s got a frown on his face. Bruce takes a moment to consider his answer. He’s not that bothered he didn’t get Joker back in Arkham, and maybe their relationship is beginning to affect how he treats Joker as Batman more than he’d like to admit. He should be more disturbed by it, but all he feels is a dull sense of defeat, like it was bound to happen sooner or later.

“It bothers me that he managed set off a bio weapon inside GCPD when the place was on full alert,” Bruce says eventually. Tim hums and nods slowly, and Bruce tenses as the dread of what Tim might say washes over him. Bruce still hasn’t brought Tim’s kidnapping up, and at that moment he’s not interested in finding out how it affects Tim’s opinion on Joker.

“But it’s fine he’s still out there,” Tim says.

“I can live with it,” Bruce replies a bit too fast, and Tim doesn’t miss it. He takes a deep breath and bites his lip, and Bruce kind of hopes he’ll keep his thoughts to himself. That look has never brought anything good with it.

“Good,” Tim says, and it’s obvious it’s not what he was thinking. “That’s good,” he mutters, and Bruce ignores him in favor of focusing on the road and the mission at hand.

“I have one dose of the antidote left for Ivy after she’s in police custody. We may be able to convince her to give herself up with it,” Bruce says once they reach the botanical garden.

“I think I’ll leave that to you,” Tim says and gives Bruce an amused smile.

“Think you can sneak up on Harley again?” Bruce asks and gets a nod in return. Neither one of them says anything when they enter the garden. Tim takes off without waiting to hear what Bruce has to say about it, and Bruce trusts him to take care of himself.

Bruce marches towards the opening where they had left the trio earlier, intending to create a distraction for Tim to take Harley out fast. Bruce expects Selina to disappear the second she realizes why they’re there, but Selina rarely causes any serious trouble so Bruce doesn’t see it as that big of a problem, and he’s kind of used to letting her escape and she knows it, as does Tim.

Bruce steps into the clearing without bothering to hide, and as he’d wanted he catches Harley and Ivy’s attention immediately. Selina is nowhere to be seen and if Bruce knows her as well as he thinks he does she took off right after Bruce and Tim’s first visit. Harley steps in front of Ivy, shielding her from Bruce and readying herself for an attack.

“Would it kill you to let us be?” Harley asks with an annoyed voice, and Bruce ignores her in favor of circling the room until Harley has her back to Tim, and she’s none the wiser to the oncoming attack.

Tim lunges at Harley before she knows what’s happening, but this time she regains her footing much faster and pulls out a gun before Tim can land a second hit. Bruce goes to stop Harley before she can shoot Tim but he’s being flung across the clearing before he can take one step forward.

Bruce hits the bushes and curses his own lack of focus. He should’ve seen Ivy is still strong enough to defend herself and Harley. His whole body aches and he can feel the stitches on his side tearing, and he’s going to have an impressive bruise on his chest come morning. Harley is flinging insults at Tim in the distant and it’s the only confirmation Bruce has he’s still alive.

“You should’ve stayed away,” Ivy says, her voice calm and confident despite the slight waver in it from the strain she’s putting herself under. The brushes around Bruce start to rustle and he rushes away from them before Ivy can grab him again.

“I have the antidote. I’ll give it to you if you stop,” Bruce tries, hoping she’ll listen to reason. “You’ll hurt yourself more than me if you keep fighting.”

“Not if I crush every bone in your body.” Ivy shoots a vine at Bruce’s legs and he barely manages to jump out of the way. It becomes a twisted game of tag where Bruce keeps just out of Ivy’s reach in hopes of wearing her down while Tim and Harley try to more or less beat each other into submission somewhere in the distance.

Ivy whacks Bruce around the room a few more times, but Bruce manages to keep her from getting a good hold of him. It seems to take hours but eventually Ivy’s speed slows down, and Bruce takes the opening to tackle her to the ground. She cries out in pain and Bruce knocks her out before she can retaliate, and breathes a sigh of relief before turning his attention to Tim and Harley.

Bruce doesn’t step in on the fight, but he does keep a close eye on it. Harley has pinned Tim to the ground and she’s trying to hit him but Tim is pulling on of her pigtails, forcing her to turn her head so she can’t see what she’s doing. Bruce kind of wants to laugh at the sight.

Tim rolls Harley to the ground and pins her down, and Harley goes from trying to punch Tim to blindly slapping in his face’s direction.

“Just give up!” Tim orders and leans as far back as he can without losing his hold on Harley.

“Go eat broccoli you wet gremlin!” Harley retorts and tries to kick Tim while Bruce crosses his arms and observes the schoolyard fight with a hint of an amused smile on his lips. Eventually Tim subdues Harley with some difficulty, but he does it on his own and Bruce barely resists the urge to congratulate him on his victory. He’d probably end up laughing and he doubts Tim needs that right now.

Bruce ties Ivy up while Tim handcuffs Harley to a half destroyed bench bolted to the ground, and Bruce asks Barbara to let the GCPD know where to find them. He leaves the antidote for the GCPD to give Ivy before heading out. Tim limps after him, and Bruce walks a little bit slower than he usually would so that Tim doesn’t have to put so much strain on his injured leg.

“She kicks really hard,” Tim explains the injury away and Bruce nods, knowing exactly what he means. She and Joker are alike in that regard, you never know how big of a punch they pack until you’re on the receiving end of it. Bruce thinks it’s a clown thing, not that he’d ever admit it out loud.

Bruce wants to go back to the city and take on the petty criminals running rampant, but Tim is hurt and Bruce isn’t doing that much better himself, so he calls it a night and heads back to the manor. Maybe a bit of sleep will do them both some good.

 

* * *

 

Alfred is setting Bruce’s breakfast down when his phone rings. Bruce glances down to it and tries his best to ignore it, but Alfred’s knowing and very unimpressed eyes on him force him to answer the call.

“I’m busy,” Bruce says as a greeting and Alfred raises an eyebrow at him.

“How busy can you be at your own home?” Joker replies, and Bruce frowns as he keeps himself from looking around to see if Joker is somewhere around him. “Eddie hacked your phone’s GPS like three hours ago,” Joker continues when Bruce doesn’t say anything, and Bruce closes his eyes and exhales.

“Next time you want to know where I am just ask. Don’t stalk me and definitely don’t get your criminal friends to do it for you,” Bruce says and pinches the bridge of his nose. Alfred stops short of pouring Bruce a cup of coffee.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Bruce can hear the pout in his voice. “Besides, I wanted to surprise you but you weren’t in the city. You’re not making this very easy,” Joker says and Bruce rolls his eyes. Alfred finally pours the coffee and sits in front of Bruce, making no attempts to hide the fact he’s listening in to the conversation.

“Good thing cars have been invented,” Bruce says. Joker hums thoughtfully awhile Bruce takes a sip of his coffee.

“Good point. I’m coming over,” Joker replies and Bruce almost spits his coffee out in his hurry to answer.

“No. Don’t do that.” Bruce grimaces at his too fast reply. Alfred looks at him with curious eyes and Bruce shakes his head minutely to let him know everything’s fine,

“Too late. See you in a bit,” Joker replies too brightly and hangs up. Bruce grits his teeth and closes his eyes for a second before finishing his breakfast in record time and hurrying to his room to put on clothes that cover up the many cuts and bruises his encounter with Ivy few days back had left on his skin. He’ll have to get Joker out of the manor before Tim comes back from school, but luckily that’s still a few hours away.

After changing his clothes Bruce hurries back downstairs, intending to rush to the front door before Joker arrives but stopping in his tracks when he remembers Alfred still eating his breakfast in the kitchen. Bruce hurries into the kitchen and catches Alfred right as he’s about to start putting the breakfast away. Alfred takes one look at Bruce and sighs.

“He’s coming here,” Alfred says and Bruce gives him an apologetic look.

“Could you talk to Barb if she calls about Arkham?” Bruce asks, and after a few seconds of consideration Alfred nods. Bruce thanks him before hurrying to the front door just in time to open it for Joker, and Bruce doesn’t want to know how many traffic laws Joker had broken to get there so fast. But there he is, grinning so widely his face looked like it might split in two, his eyes more manic than Bruce had seen in a while, and he’s shoving an old Tupperware box in Bruce’s face way too enthusiastically.

“I made cupcakes,” Joker declares and lets go of the box, dropping it in Bruce hands as he skips past him into the house. “They’re all chocolaty and minty,” he continues before dropping his coat on the floor on his way to the kitchen, probably guided by the faint scent of coffee still in the air. Bruce shakes his head and picks Joker’s coat up and putting it away before following him.

Alfred, to his credit, doesn’t seem fazed by Joker’s sudden appearance. He watches on as Joker rummages through the cupboards in search of something, and Bruce stops by the door and offers Alfred a brief smile before focusing his eyes on Joker. He’s humming some song and singing it quietly under his breath every few seconds before exclaiming in triumph and pulling out a large glass. Bruce watches on with a confused frown on his face while Joker fills the glass with cold water and pulls a straw from his pocket, and drinks the glass empty with one go.

“What are you on?” Bruce asks and wonders if he should be calling paramedics to come and take a look at Joker.

“I dunno. Johnny made some new stuff and then we tried it and now he’s handcuffed to a battery naked and screaming because Eddie didn’t let him streak down the street and Eddie’s crying in the shower because Johnny was naked and sweaty and he had to touch him and Garfield was there and I made cupcakes because you’re into that sort of domestic shit and I think I threw a spoon in someone’s eye. It was a ride,” Joker explains fast as he fills the glass again, and he turns to stare at Bruce with wide unblinking eyes.

“They’re not drugged. Nothing extra in them. Just cupcake stuff,” he says and Bruce glances down to the box in his hands. He takes the few steps to the counter and places the box down on it before focusing his attention on Joker and purposefully ignoring Alfred observing their actions from a safe distance.

“Johnny as in...” Bruce starts and directs a confused look at Joker.

“Crane,” Joker says and Bruce nods before frowning.

“He tried to streak down a street?” Bruce asks and hopes it’s not true while Joker nods, his excitement over the matter obvious.

“I’ve got pictures,” Joker replies and starts going through his pockets, and Bruce raises his hands up before he can continue.

“I don’t want to see them,” he says and Joker pouts at him, but he stops digging around his pockets and picks his glass up again, sucking the water with the straw a little too fast.

“Should I take you to a hospital?” Bruce asks when Joker goes to fill the glass for a third time.

“Nah. I’ll be fine. Just feeling a little woozy,” Joker replies and waves Bruce off. Bruce pays him no attention and takes the glass from him despite Joker’s complaints, and grabs his wrist to check his pulse. He grits his teeth when he feels Joker’s pulse hammer against his fingers way too hard to be healthy.

“Maybe you should sit down,” Bruce says and starts guiding towards a chair without waiting for a reply. Alfred pulls out a seat without a word and Bruce forces Joker down on it, and he keeps Joker seated despite his protests.

“I’m fine,” Joker tires and Bruce levels him with a stern glare.

“If your pulse goes any higher you’ll have a heart attack,” he points out. Joker scoffs and rolls his eyes, and Bruce wants to shake him to make him take this seriously.

“That’s your fault. I can’t help it. I see you and my heart just goes crazy,” Joker says and presses a hand over his chest, completely oblivious to the speed his heart is hammering at. Bruce’s cheeks heat up and he glances at Alfred’s carefully controlled face before kneeling in front of Joker.

“I think you should rest for a bit,” Bruce says, keeping his voice soft in an attempt to calm Joker down. Joker blinks at him, slow and dazed, before his expression melts into something soft and warm, and he smiles and reaches to run his fingers through Bruce’s hair. Bruce can do nothing but take in the too human look on Joker’s face.

“I love you,” Joker says, catching Bruce off guard. “I mean I love you like I would consider getting seriously maimed for you kinda love you. You know,” Joker continues and makes a series of strange motions and waves with his free hand, and looks at Bruce like it’s very important he understands what he’s saying.

Bruce looks into Joker’s eyes and tries to convince himself the adoration and warmth he sees in them won’t be there once Joker’s head clears up, that this is all something the drugs in his system are creating and therefore not real. Bruce still leans into Joker’s hand when Joker cups his face and lets himself enjoy the moment for just a second.

“I know,” he still says, and he does know what Joker means. He knows that he’s just practically received a declaration of undying love and it terrifies him to the point he wants to run away from it and never come back.

“Now, Alfred’s going to get you a sedative and you’re going to sleep for a bit, okay?” Bruce tries and ignores the slight tremble in his voice. Joker stares at him for a moment before shrugging, and Bruce looks to Alfred with a meaningful expression on his face, hoping Alfred understands he wants him to bring something to slow Joker’s heartbeat as well. Alfred gives him a brief nod and goes to get the drugs, leaving Bruce alone with Joker. Bruce waits until Alfred is out of the room before focusing back on Joker, and he’s a little surprised to see Joker still gazing at him with that same look on his face.

“They’re really good,” Joker says suddenly and it takes Bruce a second to realize he’s talking about the cupcakes. Bruce nods and offers Joker a brief smile.

“I didn’t put the eye spoon in it so there’s no people in them,” Joker continues. Bruce smiles and chuckles softly. He checks Joker’s pulse again and though it’s still way too fast for Bruce’s liking it seems to have slowed down a fraction, and Bruce breathes a little easier.

Alfred returns with the drugs and Bruce almost tells him off for going with the syringe instead of the pills, but Bruce knows how Alfred feels about Joker and maybe he can give him the satisfaction of stabbing Joker with a sharp object this one time. Alfred isn’t gentle about it either, and Joker glares at Alfred the entire time he takes to inject the drugs.

Joker doesn’t turn his eyes back to Bruce until Alfred is at a safe distance and Bruce smiles at his attitude as he reaches up to run his knuckles across Joker’s cheek, and Joker’s frown melts away at the touch. Bruce watches as the sedative starts to take hold of Joker and he starts to sway slightly. Bruce keeps him from falling down, and he’s about to get up from the floor and help Joker to a bed when Joker suddenly starts.

“You know I wouldn’t hurt you, right?” Joker asks, his voice and expression suddenly urgent. Bruce nods slowly and offers Joker an indulgent smile but it’s not the reaction Joker wants.

“No no, don’t do that. You made rules about this so this is important to you,” Joker says and presses his hands to Bruce’s cheeks. “Your face is too pretty to smash in.” Joker stares into Bruce’s eyes and squishes his face with his hands, and Bruce has to pry them off of his face before he can speak.

“I get it,” Bruce says as convincingly as he can. Joker studies him, trying to keep his eyes on Bruce’s face even as the sedative is making it hard for him to focus, and in the end he sighs and lets his eyes fall close for a second.

“You just gotta trust me a little,” Joker says and opens his eyes. “And stop telling me what to do,” he continues and punches Bruce’s shoulder, and though it’s more playful than anything the hit still connects with a bruise and tender muscle, and Bruce hisses in pain before he can stop himself.

“Okay how can you live in Gotham for your whole life and still be made of glass?” Joker laughs while Bruce rubs his now painful shoulder.

“You hit hard,” Bruce replies and wonders if he should say something about his already existing injuries.

“Not that hard,” Joker says and manages to give Bruce an unimpressed look before closing his eyes and leaning his forehead on top of Bruce’s head with a tired sigh. Bruce checks his pulse again and relaxes a little when he finds it’s slowed down something more normal, and he lets Joker be for a moment longer before pulling away.

“Let's get you to bed,” Bruce says eventually and pulls away just enough to look at Joker’s face, and though Joker protests he’s too out of it to do anything when Bruce stands up and pulls him up from the chair. Bruce doesn’t even think about getting Joker to walk, instead he picks him up from the ground and carries him to his bed without thinking about it too much.

Joker is mostly asleep by the time Bruce lowers him on the bed, and Bruce makes sure he’s comfortable before leaving the room. He needs a drink, maybe two. Bruce makes his way to the study and he’s not surprised to find Alfred there with a glass filled with the best brandy in the house. Bruce accepts the drink and thanks Alfred, and slumps down on the nearest chair with a tired sigh.

“What did you give him?” Bruce asks and takes a sip of his drink, relishing the burn of the alcohol in his throat.

“A mix of propafenone and mild sedative,” Alfred replies.

“Any chance we can keep Tim away for the day?” Bruce asks as he presses the cool glass against his temple.

“I’ve already told him you’ve agreed to give him the penthouse for the night,” Alfred says and Bruce shoots a dirty glare in his direction before deciding it’s better that Tim entertains his friends at the penthouse than him coming to the manor when Joker is there.

“Well, I for one find his behavior to be much more acceptable when he’s drugged out of his mind,” Alfred says and Bruce laughs quietly. He can’t really agree with Alfred but he appreciates the hint of humor in his voice nevertheless.

“Do you think they’re edible?” Bruce asks suddenly, causing Alfred to raise a confused eyebrow at him. “The cupcakes,” Bruce elaborates and watches Alfred’s face go through a series of emotions ranging from thoughtful to distrustful.

“I wouldn’t put anything he makes into my mouth,” Alfred replies eventually.

“He’s actually a pretty good cook,” Bruce says, and he kind of hates the defensive tone in his voice. Alfred raises a skeptical eyebrow at him.

“He is. He makes great pasta. You’d like it,” Bruce insists even as a part of him screams at him to just shut up. Alfred’s other eyebrow rises and Bruce grinds his teeth together to keep himself from saying anything else. Alfred’s still looking at him like he’s a stranger so the damage is already done.

“You love him,” Alfred states, and Bruce opens his mouth to deny it but he can’t get the words out. Alfred sighs in defeat and fills himself a glass of brandy, and it’s an unusual enough to make Bruce feel even worse about the whole situation.

“It’s complicated,” Bruce says eventually but it’s not enough and they both know it. Bruce almost insists he’s not lying, and he isn’t, what he has with Joker is definitely complicated and he can’t begin to explain it without sounding insane.

Bruce stays quiet and finishes his drink before getting up. He can’t come up with anything to say to Alfred so he just nods in his general direction and hurries out of the room, and his feet take him back to Joker before he gets a chance to think about it.

Bruce crawls into bed next to Joker and pulls a blanket over them, and he presses himself against Joker and closes his eyes. He lets Joker’s familiar scent calm him and when his mind begins to drift he welcomes it, grateful for the chance to forget about the world around him for a little while.

Joker wakes up a hours later, and by that time Bruce has already left the room once to make a few phone calls and just wander around the manor before returning to bed. He’s watching the news when Joker opens his eyes and gives Bruce a lazy smile.

“Morning,” he says and Bruce laughs softly.

“It’s closer to evening,” he replies and Joker frowns at him before shrugging and cuddling against his side. Bruce bites his tongue when Joker presses against a particularly painful bruise. Joker doesn’t seem to notice Bruce’s momentarily tensing, and Bruce is suddenly grateful he’s still groggy from the drugs.

“How’s your head?” Bruce ask and Joker hums in response, like he’s considering his answer before giving it.

“It’s fine. My high’s gone though,” Joker says and rubs his hand across his face, smearing his makeup all around his face and hand. Bruce doesn’t comment on it. Joker closes his eyes again and huffs a warm breath against Bruce’s chest, and for a moment Bruce thinks he’s fallen asleep again.

“Did the news say anything about a streaker?” Joker mutters, and Bruce snorts when he realizes what Joker is talking about.

“No,” Bruce replies and wraps his arm around Joker’s shoulders.

“So you love me?” Bruce can’t stop himself from asking, and he almost expects Joker to at least slap him.

“Obviously,” Joker replies, moving his head enough to gaze up to Bruce’s face. “Why’d you think I let you set up rules and stuff?” Bruce hadn’t thought about it, he’d just accepted he got his way and let it be. Maybe he should’ve given it more thought.

“I’m not complaining, just a little surprised,” Bruce admits. He’s not sure if he believes Joker but he kind of hopes he’s not being honest. Bruce glances down to Joker and finds him observing him closely. Bruce keeps himself from openly reacting to the sharp stare.

“I’m not completely heartless, you know,” Joker says and though his expression aims for amused but his voice holds an almost hurt tone. “Just don’t fuck me over and we’ll be peachy.”

Bruce doesn’t want to believe it. He doesn’t want to believe Joker is capable of such profoundly human emotion. He’s spent years convincing himself it’s not a possibility and yet he’s seen it in his eyes. He’s seen the genuine adoration in Joker’s eyes when he looks at Batman, and he’s seen that warmth and gentleness and affection when he looks at Bruce, and he can’t deny Joker has an incredible amount of patience when it comes to Harley.

So Bruce takes a deep breath and lets go of that still present need to believe Joker is something other than he is. He lets himself accept that the part of Joker he loves isn’t an act or a figment of his imagination, and suddenly Bruce feels like he could cry from the sheer amount of relief that washes over him. Because Joker loves him, even if it is in his own way, and it’s more than Bruce ever hoped for.

Bruce surprises Joker by pinning him to the bed, and Joker laughs in delight once he gets over his shock in the sudden change in their positions. Bruce grins, enjoying the sound of Joker’s laughter and the sight of him, smudged makeup and all. Bruce buries his hands in Joker’s messy hair and kisses him, swallowing the laughter from his lips. Joker throws his arms around Bruce’s shoulders, and despite the injuries and bruises covering Bruce’s body protesting to the touch he ignores it in favor of enjoying the closeness.

Of course Joker has to ruin it by pushing Bruce away too soon, but the urgent look in his eyes shuts Bruce up before he can protest. Bruce worries he’s done something wrong and he pulls back, giving Joker some space.

“Tell me you didn’t eat my cupcakes,” Joker says and Bruce’s face falls. He doubts it’s that urgent. Unless Joker had poisoned the cupcakes or something.

“Please tell me they were edible,” Bruce groans as he sits up properly.

“Yeah, totally. But I’m starving and I need sugar so move,” Joker replies and shoos Bruce out of his way as he rolls off the bed and makes a brief detour to the bathroom to fix his makeup on his way out of the room.

Bruce hurries after him, fearing Joker will run into Alfred and cause trouble if left alone. He finds Joker in the kitchen, stuffing a cupcake in his mouth while he rummages through the cupboards, and Bruce can’t wait to explain that to Alfred.

“Is there something particular you’re looking for?” Bruce asks and walks up to Joker, intending to stop him from messing the kitchen up.

“Food,” Joker replies and turns to Bruce. He shoves the last bite of his cupcake into his mouth and motions to the container he’d left on the counter. “You really wanna try one.”

Bruce sighs and indulges Joker by picking up a cupcake and taking a small bite. They’re actually pretty good, though Bruce would’ve preferred a little less mint. Joker goes back to digging through Alfred’s carefully organized cupboards.

“I could make something if you’re hungry,” Alfred’s voice comes from the door and Bruce jumps, and Joker snaps his attention to Alfred, his hand darting behind his back, and Bruce knows he’s got a knife in his hands. He doesn’t mention it though, it’s probably not smart to let Alfred know how close to death he just was.

“Do I get to pick?” Joker asks, his voice and expression mockingly excited, and Bruce wouldn’t be surprised if Alfred would kick him out just for that. Alfred glances at Bruce before putting on his best butler mask and turning to Joker.

“Of course,” Alfred replies and forces a polite smile. Joker claps his hands and bounces on his feet for a second before falling into a thoughtful silence.

“Pancakes,” Joker decides eventually, and Alfred gives him a brief nod before moving to get the ingredients he’ll need. Bruce mouths him a silent thank you when he catches Alfred’s eye before pulling Joker out of the kitchen to give Alfred some space.

Joker lets Bruce drag him to the library, but once they’re there Joker pulls away from Bruce and wanders away. Bruce closes the doors to give them some privacy before following Joker who has reached the bookshelves. He’s going through the books, running his fingers along their backs and reading their names with a mildly curious look in his eyes.

“You ever bring a pretty girl here?” Joker asks, turning to give Bruce a meaningful look. Bruce rolls his eyes and wonders if he should admit he’d thought about it on occasion.

“Haven’t had the opportunity,” Bruce says eventually and Joker raises an eyebrow at him. Bruce ignores him in favor of studying the books before him. Joker keeps his eyes on Bruce, observing his every move with a calculating gleam in his eyes, and it makes Bruce feel like he’s under a microscope.

Then Joker’s eyes catch the framed picture of Tim and Dick, and he’s moving towards it before Bruce realizes what’s happening. Joker grabs the picture and studies it with a thoughtful expression while Bruce tries to decide if he can safely take the picture from him. Joker frowns at the frame and clicks his tongue before turning his eyes to Bruce, and offering him a small smile.

“Cute,” he says and waves the picture at Bruce. “Thought you had three of them,” Joker continues and the hint of a frown that appears on his face gives Bruce a stop.

“I’d rather not talk about that,” Bruce replies, his voice more quiet than he intended. Joker raises a curious eyebrow but lets it go, and Bruce breathes a little bit easier. Joker turns his attention back to the picture and Bruce shifts uncomfortably next to him while he memorizes every detail he can, and of course Joker doesn’t miss his anxiousness.

“I’m not gonna hurt them if that’s what you’re worried about,” Joker says and glances at Bruce from the corner of his eye. “I’m not stupid, I know hurting the kids never ends well. You’ll hate me and you’ll never forgive me. Trust me, personal experience and all that,” Joker continues with an almost forlorn smile on his face, and turns towards Bruce who chews his lip instead of answering.

Bruce knows Joker is referring to Jason and Bruce doesn’t want to talk about it, he’s not sure how that conversation would even go. But maybe Alfred is right and Bruce ought to stop being scared and tell Joker the truth. Joker wants Batman to love him so how bad could his reaction be? It can’t be that bad to let him know that even after everything he’s done, even after Jason, he got what he wanted. And while Bruce may never be able to fully forgive Joker for taking Jason away he’s moved past that and he can understand why Joker did what he did, and he’s come to terms with it.

Bruce takes a deep breath, trying to decide if he has the courage to actually tell the truth to Joker, but Joker beats him to it.

“So how do you feel about library sex?” Joker asks and there’s an edge to his voice Bruce can’t identify, but maybe Joker had sensed he was about to say something important and he doesn’t want to hear it. So Bruce sighs and lets himself relax, and fixes a playful smile on his face.

“I’m not opposed to it,” Bruce replies and watches as a wicked grin spreads on Joker’s face, and he’s kissing Bruce and pushing him back in an instant. Bruce returns the kiss, biting Joker’s lip and burying his hands into his hair, and when his back slams against the bookshelf he hisses as much from the pain as he does from pleasure.

Joker drops to his knees and mouths along Bruce’s hardening erection, and any ideas of talking fly out of Bruce’s mind. Bruce buries his hand in Joker’s hair and lets his head fall against the bookshelf, enjoying the feel of Joker’s mouth on him.

And when Joker starts opening his zipper Bruce decides talking is overrated anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter coming up in December. Before Christmas, because I kinda wanna post the last chapter before that.
> 
> Also let me know what you think, maybe?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my original plan was to post the last chapter now, but as my luck would have it my computer broke and school has been a pain, so I'm horribly behind my planned schedule and I'm sorry but at least I got this up for Christmas.

Bruce keeps himself busy with work and patrolling, and Alfred notices it immediately. He also calls Bruce out on it faster than he usually does, and though Bruce doesn’t exactly pout when Alfred corners him in his Wayne Enterprises office it’s close. Bruce crosses his arms and looks at Alfred with eyes that tell him in no uncertain terms that he’s not up for a conversation.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Alfred states and Bruce bites his tongue to keep himself from saying something he might regret.

“I’m working on it,” Bruce replies and makes a point of focusing on the computer screen. Alfred doesn’t move from his spot across the desk, and Bruce can feel his eyes boring holes to his skull.

“I’ll tell them. Just not right now,” Bruce says slowly, trying not to be annoyed with the situation.

Alfred has been pestering him to let the rest of his family in on the situation ever since Joker left the manor almost two weeks ago to see if Crane was still tied up, and Bruce has been dodging him to the best of his abilities. The courage he’d felt in the library had disappeared almost as soon as it had arrived, and Bruce has been left with the fear his family will reject him once again. He wishes Alfred would let him take his time with this.

“Sooner, rather than later would be better,” Alfred says and shifts, and Bruce barely suppresses a sigh of relief when he realizes the conversation has ended.

“I’m assuming you’ll be out until evening so is there anything in particular you want me to tell Tim?” Alfred asks and raises a knowing eyebrow when Bruce glances at him.

“Tell him I’m meeting someone,” Bruce replies as he shuts the computer off. There’s no point in pretending he’s working now that Alfred has caught him and spoken his mind. Bruce stands up and picks up his things before circling the desk, and Alfred follows him out of the office and into the private elevator.

“Will you be needing a ride?” Alfred asks and after considering it for a moment Bruce nods. He might as well have Alfred drive him to his next destination.

Bruce sends Joker a text asking where he is, and he gets a reply a few seconds later telling him he’s at home. Bruce gives Alfred the address once they’re in the car, and Alfred drives off without inquiring more about their destination. Bruce stays quiet during the ride, though he keeps his phone at hand in case Joker tries to get in touch with him.

Joker doesn’t send him any more texts, and Alfred gets Bruce to where he wants to go slightly faster than Bruce expected. Bruce thanks Alfred for the ride and he’s about to get out of the car when Joker yanks the door open and sticks his head in.

“You gotta come see this!” His whole face is lit up with excitement, and it’s the kind of look Bruce usually sees on his face after he’s committed some particularly horrible crime.

“You too,” Joker says to Alfred before disappearing, and Bruce shares a concerned look with Alfred before exiting the car. Alfred follows him a few seconds later, and he double checks the doors after locking them before following Bruce. Joker has already reached the car parked around the corner, talking with Jonny and another member of his crew whose name Bruce hasn’t heard yet, and the dread inside Bruce grows with every step he takes. Bruce can feel Alfred’s unease without looking at him and he starts to regret asking Alfred to drive him.

Joker motions for them to get closer and Bruce fixes a confused smile on his face as they reach Joker. Bruce keeps Alfred behind him even as Joker reaches into the car, and Bruce prepares himself for anything. Jonny eyes Bruce with curiosity and shares a strange look with the other man.

“Isn’t this the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?” Joker coos and pulls out the most miserable looking puppy Bruce has seen in a while. It’s fur is coming off in patches and it’s eyes are cloudy and clearly infected and it could use a lot of food, but Joker still looks at the dog like it’s the best thing he’s ever seen and he’s holding it out to Bruce like he expects him to agree.

Bruce did not prepare for this.

“Sure,” Bruce replies as he shoves his hands into his pockets so he doesn’t have to actually touch the dog. Joker holds the dog out for a few seconds more before shifting it on his arms, and both Jonny and the other henchman hurry to remove their jackets and cover the puppy before it can touch Joker’s clothes.

"Brucie, Jonny, Happy, Jeeves,” Joker says as he motions between everyone, and Bruce greets the other men with a wave of his hand.

“We call him Happy ‘cause he makes the boss happy,” Jonny says and throws a smirk in Happy’s direction despite the glare he receives in return.

“Oh he makes me _very_ happy,” Joker says and turns to wink at Happy who smiles indulgently at the flirtation. Bruce narrows his eyes slightly and shifts his gaze from Joker to Happy, sizing him up as discreetly as he can. Happy’s got an inch or two on Bruce and he looks more like a bouncer than a street thug, but unless he’s secretly a ninja Bruce doubts he’d have any trouble taking him on.

“I still got my wife at home,” Happy says and gets an eye roll from Joker in return while Jonny tries not to laugh as he moves to lean on the car.

“I could shoot her,” Joker suggests and Bruce knows it’s a sincere offer, and he wonders if he should get some kind of a security detail around Happy’s wife.

“Nah. I kinda like her taking care of the kids,” Happy replies and laughs it off, and Bruce gets the feeling it’s an old joke between them. Joker pouts for a moment before grinning and turning his attention back to Bruce.

“So you wanna adopt a dog with me? I mean I’m gonna keep her but you can have her when I’m in Arkham and we can talk about visitation rights and stuff,” Joker says and it takes Bruce a few seconds to realize Joker is being serious. He glances at the miserable puppy in Joker’s arms before sighing.

“You’re not keeping that dog,” he says, and steels himself for a fight when Joker’s face falls.

“Dogs are good for your mental health, you know. Don’t you want me to get better?” Joker looks appalled at Bruce’s behavior, and Bruce can do nothing but spread his arms and shake his head, and to his horror Alfred crosses his arms and raises a pointed eyebrow at him.

“Why don’t you want me to get better?” Joker demands and Bruce laughs before he can stop himself.

“A dog isn’t going to fix you,” Bruce replies and does his best not to get frustrated with Joker.

“How would you know that? It hasn’t been tried yet,” Joker counters.

“A dog requires care, okay? You have to feed it and walk it and train it, and you have to do that every single day, not just when you feel like it. You need empathy. You need to be able to care about another living being and their well being and no offense but you can’t do that.” Bruce knows it’s the wrong thing to say the second Joker shuts down. It’s not a visible change but Bruce knows him, and he knows what that minute tensing of his smile and that way his eyes seem to lose their light means.

“If I wasn’t holding this dog I’d punch you,” Joker says, and though his voice is light it has a cruel edge to it. Bruce wants to apologize, he hadn’t meant to offend Joker and he knows Joker has it in him to care about others at least on some level, their relationship has proven that.

“And if that’s what you think then what the fuck do I keep you around for?” Joker continues, taking a step forward, and it’s like the air is being punched out of Bruce. He doesn’t know what to say, he’s not sure he could even get the words out if he did, all he knows is that he can’t go through another break up with Joker.

Jonny and Happy tense up, looking ready to bolt if the situation calls for it while Alfred takes a step away from Bruce, and Joker is still staring at him with that too cold gleam in his eyes. Bruce opens his mouth to say he’s sorry when he catches a glimpse of the barely concealed hurt in Joker’s eyes, and suddenly a hasty apology doesn’t feel like it’d be enough.

“I’m afraid Master Bruce has a bit of a fear of dogs,” Alfred says suddenly and steps up to stand by Bruce’s side. “There was an incident with a chihuahua and we’ve had a ban on dogs ever since,” he continues and Bruce turns to glare at him, the betrayal clear in his eyes.

“Do tell me more,” Joker says, more curious than angry all of the sudden, and Bruce counts it as a small victory even if he’s not sure if he likes it.

Bruce is about to put an end to the discussion before any embarrassing details can be revealed when he hears a muffled scream for help coming from the trunk of the car. Everybody freezes, and Bruce is ready to start demanding an explanation from Joker when Joker slowly turns towards Happy and stares at him with wide eyes. Happy looks uncomfortable as the muffled screams continue, and every second he stays silent Joker’s expression grows more disbelieving.

“The fucker tried to grab my baby girl,” Happy snaps eventually, and Joker takes in a sharp breath, looking overly horrified.

“How dare he?” Joker shakes his head and shares a look with Jonny before handing the dog to him.

“It’s fine. I can handle it. I’m just gonna scare him a little,” Happy protests when Joker moves to the car, and Bruce pushes Alfred a few steps back just in case.

“And I’m gonna scare him a lot,” Joker replies as he picks the lock on the trunk and yanks it open. The screams turn from cries for help to those of terror, and Joker sits calmly down on the edge of the trunk, shushing the man inside it like everything is fine. Bruce glances at Alfred to see how he’s doing, and though Alfred seem concerned he thinks that as long as Joker doesn’t get violent everything will be fine.

“Look, I’m trying to have a chat with my friends and you’re making it really hard for us to hear each other. So if you could just kindly shut the fuck up so I don’t have to make you do that. I’m trying to give off a good impression,” Joker says conversationally. The man in the trunk whimpers and apologizes with a teary voice.

“Just shut up. That’s all I need you to do,” Joker says and gives the man an encouraging nod.

“I will, I’ll shut up. I’ll be quiet, just please don’t hurt me,” the man pleads and Joker sighs and gives Jonny a long suffering look. Jonny returns the look as Happy moves to dig around the backseat of the car, and after a moment he pulls out a roll of duct tape and hands it to Joker.

“Now, you and I seem to have a difference of opinion when it comes to the definition of ‘shut up’. So I’m gonna teach you what I mean and you’re gonna learn. Sadly we don’t have a big ball of hard candy for you to chew on so we can’t go full on Jawbreaker and try to frame Marilyn Manson for your murder but I hope you can forgive that,” Joker says as he rips a large piece of tape off of the roll, and he gives the man a sweet smile before taping his mouth shut.

The man screams through the tape while Joker rips another strip off of the roll and places it over the man’s mouth, and he continues doing so until the man falls quiet. Bruce counts six strips.

“Now was that so hard?” Joker asks and pats the man’s cheek before hopping off the car and slamming the trunk shut. He throws the tape roll to Happy and returns his attention to Alfred, wiping his hands together as he approaches him.

“A chihuahua?” He asks and smiles pleasantly. Alfred stares at Joker with a mildly shocked expression, and even when Joker tilts his head he doesn’t reply.

“It was insane. It tried to eat me,” Bruce says when Alfred gives no sign of speaking. Joker turns his amused eyes to him, and Bruce curses Alfred silently for bringing that dog up.

“This woman I dated for a while had this tiny dog and she brought it to the manor and it lunged at me and tried to kill me, so no, I’m not a big fan of dogs,” Bruce explains, leaving out the fact that he’s been bitten and attacked by a lot of dogs in his time, not just one bloodthirsty pocket sized monster.

“But this isn’t a chihuahua. This is a cute little mutt that’s in need of a home,” Joker replies. He looks more patient now, having lost his anger, and Bruce slowly realizes he’s not going to talk Joker out of keeping the dog. He lets his shoulders slump and closes his eyes for a second before giving up.

“It’s not moving into my home when you get tired of it,” he says and Joker whoops in joy before throwing his arms around Bruce’s neck and pressing a kiss on his cheek. Alfred shifts his weight and straightens up, and Bruce keeps his attention more on Joker’s crewmen than him. He doesn’t trust them to not hurt Alfred if they think he poses a threat to Joker.

“I could take the dog to a vet,” Alfred offers. Joker grins and nods, and Jonny hands the puppy to Alfred without a word. Alfred accepts the dog and settles it on his arms, and Joker abandons Bruce in favor of trailing after Alfred as he takes the dog to the car.

“Make sure she gets her vaccines. And food. Make sure they give her food. Let me know everything that happens,” Joker demands and to his credit Alfred listens to him without being bothered at all.

“I’ll let you know how it goes,” Alfred promises and gives Bruce a small nod before stepping into the car, and Bruce gets the impression he’s fleeing the scene as fast as he can. Bruce doesn’t blame him, though he’s a bit dismayed by Alfred’s willingness to abandon him in such a situation.

“He’s not gonna run to the cops, is he?” Jonny asks, his voice quiet like he’s worried Joker will hear him, and he lights a cigarette as he leans against the car again.

“No,” Bruce replies and turns to look at Jonny while Alfred drives away.

It’s strange being there with them, out of the batsuit, and Bruce isn’t sure he likes it. He has to trust Joker to keep them in line, and though Bruce doubts Joker would let them hurt him it’s a new situation to him and he’s not sure how to act. And he’s not even getting to the man still tied up in the trunk.

“We’re gonna need to get her food. Maybe a few toys,” Joker says as he absently digs around his pockets, directing his words to Jonny who nods and pulls out a pack of Menthols from his pocket, offering it to Joker.

“Why thank you. I knew there was a reason I keep you around,” Joker says and lights a cigarette. He offers the pack to Bruce who declines them, and Joker shoves the pack into his pockets and waves towards the trunk of the car.

“So explain that,” Joker demands and Happy sighs before snapping his fingers at Jonny who offers him one of his cigarettes.

“I was picking Izzy up from daycare and the fucker was there trying to get her into his car. So I took my bat and knocked him out and stuffed him in the trunk. Had to take Izzy home and then Jonny called for a ride. Thought I was driving with a corpse by now,” Happy explains.

“You could’ve said there’s a corpse in the car,” Jonny complains and gets a groan from Happy in return.

“He’s not dead.”

“But you thought he was,” Jonny points out and Joker laughs, and hops to sit on the trunk again. Bruce steps closer to him while Jonny and Happy continue their argument. Joker moves his attention from his men to Bruce, his smile turning to something more gentle, and he reaches out to pull Bruce to stand between his legs.

“So what do you wanna do today?” Joker asks, and Bruce shrugs in response, still bothered by the fact that there’s someone inside the trunk but unable to really show it, and Joker doesn’t seem to even remember it.

“Wanna go up? I could do a little dance for you. Or tie you up if that’s something you wanna try,” Joker says, his voice quiet and almost seductive, and he keeps his eyes glued on Bruce as he inhales the smoke of his cigarette.

“We can go up, but you’re not tying me up,” Bruce replies and doesn’t let Joker’s pout affect him.

“We’ll have to talk about that later,” Joker says and nods to himself. Bruce doesn’t bother telling him there’s no chance in hell he’ll ever let Joker tie him up. He gets enough of that when he’s Batman, and those occasions have left him with an aversion to being bound or confined in any way.

Bruce lets Joker pull into his arms and kiss him. Joker coaxes his mouth open and tugs on the hairs at the back of Bruce’s neck, demanding and possessive, and a part of Bruce wants to give in to his will. But a bigger part of him fears what might happen. He knows Joker won’t hurt him but he’s got too much bad experiences with that to be comfortable with it. And Bruce can admit a little fear can be exciting, but he’s not there with Joker just yet. He doubts he ever will be.

Bruce moves his hand to Joker’s throat in response to the insistent hand in his hair, and as he expected Joker’s breath hitches and he leans into the touch, and the trust Joker has in him is almost more of a turn on than the power Bruce has over him. Bruce squeezes Joker’s throat slightly just because he can and swallows the sound from his lips. Sometimes Bruce still can’t believe Joker lets him do this.

Joker breaks the kiss when he can’t breathe anymore, and after glancing at his burnt out cigarette he dumps it and lights a new one.

“We could get a drink,” Joker suggests and Bruce nods in agreement. Jonny and Happy have stopped arguing and they’re making a point of not looking in their direction. Joker leans back until he’s lying on the car and breathes out a cloud of smoke, gazing up at the slowly darkening sky.

Jonny and Happy have a quiet, quick disagreement before Jonny trudges to Joker’s side and clears his throat. Bruce doesn’t have to be a detective to see he’s worried about the reaction he’ll receive.

“We kinda have to be going,” Jonny says, trying to keep his voice steady. Joker hums and rolls his head to the side until he’s facing Jonny, and breathes in another lungful of smoke.

“I could use a drink,” Bruce says when Joker makes no indication of getting up. Joker turn his eyes to Bruce and after a second he pulls himself up and hops down from the car.

“Let’s go get you your drink then,” Joker says and dumps his cigarette with a smile. Jonny studies Bruce for a second before sharing a strange look with Happy, and Bruce gets the feeling they’ve just decided they don’t like him very much.

Bruce follows Joker inside, throwing one last glance at the car before it disappears around the corner. He’s not waiting to hear what happens to the man in the trunk, but if what Happy says about his daughter is true then Bruce can at least tell himself the person in the trunk isn’t exactly the most innocent of people.

“They’ll just scare him,” Joker says without turning to look at Bruce, and not for the first time Bruce kind of hates how perceptive he is. Bruce decides to take Joker’s word for it and pushes the thing out of his mind.

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce gets his drink and Joker wanders around the apartment for a good hour before settling, and he insists Bruce keep his phone on him at all times in case Alfred calls with news of his dog. After the hour passes and there’s still no word from Alfred Joker demands Bruce to call him, and after a brief argument Bruce caves and does just that, only to get the voicemail and a text few minutes later saying that the dog is fine, but the vet is taking some tests to make sure it’s healthy.

It doesn’t really lift Joker’s mood.

Bruce wonders about the fixation Joker has with the dog. It’s not something that fits his character, caring about something helpless and innocent. Maybe it’s a passing thing and in a few days or weeks Joker will get tired of the dog. But Joker had a point, dogs do help people with mental health problems, and maybe the miserable thing can help Joker in some way.

Bruce’s phone rings and Joker is on him in an instant, demanding Bruce answer it immediately and that he put the call on speaker. Bruce does, and he hopes Alfred has some good news for him.

“The dog will be fine. The vet demanded I leave her there overnight so they can monitor her, but if everything goes well they might release her tomorrow. They’re giving her some antibiotics and they washed her to get the fleas off her and help her with the rash. She’s a bit malnourished and dehydrated but otherwise fine,” Alfred says and Bruce sighs in relief.

“I want her back first thing tomorrow,” Joker says and Bruce barely resists the urge to shove him away.

“I’ll try to make that happen,” Alfred promises and Bruce thanks him before hanging up.

“See? Your dog will be fine,” Bruce says and turns to Joker who is moving towards the bottle of red wine he’d pulled out earlier but hadn’t bothered to open. Bruce gets them glasses while Joker opens the bottle, and he holds the glasses while Joker pours the wine into them. Joker gulps down most of his wine in one go before filling his glass again.

Bruce sits down on the couch and watches Joker walk around the room with no real purpose, though his eyes land on Bruce more often than not, and there’s something about the way he looks at Bruce that raises the hairs at the back of his neck up.

“What?” Bruce asks when he has enough of Joker’s wandering. Joker stops, twirling his wine and tilting his head slightly as the corners of his lips turn up.

“I wanna take your picture,” Joker says. There’s an edge to his voice Bruce doesn’t like but he doesn’t comment on it.

“You’ve taken my picture before,” Bruce points out instead. Joker shrugs and sips his wine.

“Yeah but I want a pretty picture,” Joker replies, and the wording makes Bruce almost nauseous. Joker had called the pictures he’d taken of Barbara after he’d paralyzed her pretty. He’d called the picture he’d taken of Harley, broken and beaten after he’d pushed out of a window pretty. Then there had been the case of him slaughtering an entire family and posing them as he pleased as he took the pictures he wanted.

Bruce downs his wine and fills his glass again to buy himself some time.

“It’s just a picture,” Joker says and laughs softly, like he can’t believe Bruce isn’t jumping on board with the idea.

“Define ‘a pretty picture’,” Bruce replies. He’d rather know what he’s getting into.

“You’re not getting hurt if that’s what you’re worried about,” Joker laughs. It doesn’t really ease Bruce’s mind, especially since Joker seems to be reading his thoughts once again, but maybe he can go along Joker’s whims for now.

“So when are you going to be taking this picture?” Bruce asks and gets a shrug in return.

“I’ll let you know,” Joker says and winks before turning around and leaving the room while Bruce watches him go with a small frown on his face. He’s not liking this one bit.

Joker returns a few minutes later with his camera in his hands and a playful smile on his lips. Bruce forces a smile on his face and when that doesn’t feel like it works he goes back to drinking his wine. He’s not sure why he’s making a big deal out of this and it’s definitely bothering him almost as much as Joker with a camera is.

Joker sets the camera down on the table before taking Bruce’s glass from him and setting it down next to the camera. He regards Bruce for a moment with a strange look in his eyes before nudging Bruce’s legs apart and climbing on his lap. Then he’s kissing Bruce and running his hands through his hair, and rolling his hips slowly against Bruce’s.

Bruce forgets about the camera within seconds.

Joker pulls away after a moment and Bruce can’t stop the protesting sound from leaving his throat. Joker laughs and pats Bruce’s cheek.

“I kinda wanna get you high,” Joker says and offers Bruce a pleasant smile, and Bruce’s mood drops almost instantly.

“You want to drug me?” He asks, his voice incredulous. Joker tilts his head from side to side and pretends to consider it for a moment before smiling.

“If you want drugs I can get you drugs. I was thinking more along the lines of smoking some weed but I can do harder stuff if that’s what you want,” Joker corrects him with a shrug. Bruce almost laughs, he can’t believe Joker wants to get high even though it’s not surprising at all.

“Just humor me. Let’s relax and have some fun,” Joker continues and nudges Bruce’s shoulder. “Don’t tell me you’ve never gotten high. You’re rich and you went to college, I won’t believe it.”

Bruce sighs, and decides lying won’t do him any good. “I’ve tried it,” he admits and relaxes a bit. This is something he might be able to do.

“Great! I’ve got the good stuff too. Not the shitty stuff you get from the hot dog guy near that tower of yours,” Joker says and jumps off of Bruce’s lap. Bruce opens and closes his mouth a few times before his thoughts catch up with the situation.

“I didn’t agree to anything,” he points out, but Joker isn’t listening to him. Bruce grits his teeth and frowns, wondering what’s up with Joker this time.

Joker returns shortly with a small tin box. He sits on the floor and sets the box on the table, and downs what’s left of his wine before opening the box and starting to go through the small baggies containing everything from weed to some pills Bruce can’t identify.

“Found it,” Joker says and pulls out a bag of weed and shakes it in front of Bruce’s face with a triumphant grin on his lips.

“Ivy makes it and if you tell this to anyone I’ll torture you until you cry but she makes the best stuff out there,” Joker continues as he starts to roll the joint. Bruce lets out a deep breath and slumps back on the couch.

After a few minutes Joker closes the box, grabs his camera and stands up, and points to the bow window that creates a beautiful half circle at the end of the room. He doesn’t wait to see if Bruce follows him, and for a second Bruce considers staying put but there’s an edge to Joker that makes him feel like it would be a bad idea to not do what he wants. He gets up and follows Joker, and waits while Joker cracks one of the windows open before sitting cross legged on the window seat and motioning Bruce to join him. Bruce hesitates for a second before following Jokers example, though he remains more rigid than Joker does.

Joker eyes him for a second before snorting and lighting the joint. He breathes in the smoke and holds his breath as he offers the joint to Bruce. There’s challenge and a calculating gleam in his eyes that Bruce hasn’t seen in awhile, and he decides the risk of angering Joker isn’t worth it, and he accepts the joint.

He can’t wait to explain this to Alfred.

Joker smirks, satisfied with getting his way, and leans his head against the window. Bruce throws one last defiant look in Joker’s direction before inhaling the smoke and letting it fill his lungs. It doesn’t take long for his head to start to feel lighter and for the time to slow down, and he relaxes against the wall despite himself. It’s better than he expected.

“On<e of the best cures for stress, anxiety and bad days,” Joker says and Bruce can’t argue with that, so he shrugs and offers the joint back to Joker.

They end up smoking in silence, only exchanging brief words as they enjoy each other’s company. Joker gets up to get the wine around the time Bruce’s head goes from light to impossibly heavy, and Bruce accepts the glass he’s offered when Joker returns. He watches Joker light a cigarette and sip his wine.

“Did I ever tell you Harley cornered me after our fight?” Bruce asks suddenly, his voice surprisingly clear. Joker raises a mildly curious eyebrow in response.

“You hit her,” Bruce continues and Joker rolls his eyes like Bruce is being ridiculous for caring Harley was hurt.

“That was your fault. You shouldn’t have pissed me off.” Bruce stares at Joker with an incredulous look and pushes himself off of the wall.

“Your lack of self control is not my fault,” Bruce states, calm and serious, and Joker makes a face like he’s about to argue but thinks better of it and focuses on the window instead. Bruce would argue further if his head was more clear, but it doesn’t seem that important at that moment.

Joker finishes his cigarette before shuffling forward until he’s in Bruce’s lap and kissing him, and Bruce almost drops his glass to the floor in his hurry to place it down before wrapping his arms around Joker. The alcohol mixed with his high makes Bruce get lost in Joker faster than usual, and the subtle floating feeling he has makes Joker on top of him feel like an anchor to reality, a constant in the ever changing world. It’s always been like that, really, but it’s the first time Bruce can truly feel it.

Joker bites Bruce’s lip until Bruce tastes blood, and when Joker moves from kissing Bruce to licking the wound he moans without thinking. He can feel Joker’s satisfied smile against his skin, and he wraps his hand around Joker’s throat in response, not really squeezing but putting just enough pressure to it that Joker feels it, and pushes him back so he can look at his face. And just like every time he’s done that Joker stills and his eyes turn dark, and he leans minutely against Bruce’s hand on his throat.

Bruce knows it’s not submission, not really anyways, it’s more like Joker is allowing him to be in charge and he’s just enjoying the ride. Bruce isn’t sure when he earned the right to do this to Joker but he’s not about to question it, though he can’t help but wonder about it as he studies Joker’s dazed expression. It dawns on Bruce that Joker genuinely likes it, despite his constant need to control everything and everyone around him and be in charge.

It hits Bruce out of nowhere, and he stares at Joker in wide eyed wonder for a moment before a triumphant grin spreads on his face and he laughs, much to Joker’s confusion. Years of fighting and months of being in a relationship and it took being high and drunk for Bruce to finally understand.

“What’s so funny?” Joker asks, and pulls away from Bruce with a confused frown on his face.

“I figured you out,” Bruce declares, a little too proud of himself, and Joker laughs, once, a sharp sound that would usually make Bruce concerned for his safety.

“Oh do tell,” Joker says and returns to his side of the seat, picking up his glass of wine to busy himself with something. Bruce can’t help but take a moment to gloat in silence as he takes a sip of his own wine before focusing on Joker again.

“You’re a control freak,” Bruce says, sure of his discovery, and Joker snorts into his glass before pointing at his apartment.

“Look around you, I’m really not. You’re thinking of Eddie which is disturbing and kinda insulting to be honest,” he replies. Bruce sighs and humors Joker by glancing around the controlled mess that is his home.

“I mean you can’t handle not being in control of the people in your life. The people who work for you fear you and they don’t dare to cross you, and Harley comes running the second you snap your fingers. You want to see Batman you just blow something up,” Bruce says and looks out if the window.

“I’ve been wondering why you’re so hung up on me walking out on you. I thought it might be abandonment issues or something and maybe it is, but you can’t stand that I could leave you when you were threatening to kill me. And I honestly thought you might.” Bruce turns his eyes to Joker’s face only to be met with a carefully neutral smile. It should worry him more than it does.

“There’s not really anything you can do to control what I do. Well, you could threaten Alfred or the kids but you know I’d never forgive you that and I’d hate you for it and that’s not what you want. I mean, if you can’t get your way if you have a gun to my head then how are you going to control me at all? It drives you mad. That’s what this is about,” Bruce says and motions at them, and though he sees the tightness in Joker’s expression he ignores it. He’s too proud of himself and too high and drunk to think clearly.

“Bet that’s why you gave me the silent treatment when I told you not to hurt me,” Bruce says and grins at Joker.

“I was trying not to kill you,” Joker corrects him, sounding annoyed and defensive at the same time.

“Like you tried not to kill me after I was kidnapped? What, you got pissed I pinned you down and did what I wanted with you? Seemed to me like you enjoyed it,” Bruce says and leans forward with a proud smile on his face. It’s the wrong thing to do, and Joker’s face twitches before turning furious, and the next thing Bruce knows is the sound of shattering as his glass falls to the floor along with the wine bottle, and Joker holding a knife to his face and his other hand pressed against his throat.

“You don’t know shit,” Joker growls and presses the knife at the corner of Bruce’s mouth. Bruce stills, realizing he might have pushed Joker too far, but refusing to break their eye contact.

“You think you can just check your neat little boxes of _issues_ and _problems_ and figure me out, huh? You think if you get enough boxes you can fix me?” Joker snarls before letting out a shrill laugh, and Bruce does his best to ignore the chill running down his spine as he tries to figure out the best course of action.

Bruce doesn’t act from self preservation as much as the need to keep Joker from doing something he’ll end up regretting when he throws Joker off of him and onto the ground. Joker lets out a confused yelp when the glass shards dig into his skin, and Bruce is on him before he can get up and realize what’s happening, intending to get the knife away from Joker as soon as possible.

But Joker is used to fighting Bruce when he’s in armor and there’s nothing Bruce can do that Joker isn’t already familiar with, and without the protection of his batsuit Bruce has to take the extra effort not to get stabbed. Joker ends up pinning Bruce to the ground and the glass digs into Bruce’s arms and back, ripping his clothes and skin and causing warm blood to pour from his new wounds.

Bruce barely manages to grab Joker’s arm when he drives the knife at Bruce’s face, stopping the blade mere inches from his eye. A silence falls around them, only broken by their ragged breathing. Bruce stares at the blade with wide eyes, knowing full well he’s not the one who prevented it from being buried in his skull.

Bruce forces his eyes to move from the blade to Joker’s shocked face. He doubts Joker had even realized what he was doing, and if his face is any indication the realization of what he was about to do is hitting him hard and he’s horrified by it. Bruce inches away from the knife and presses the pressure points on Joker’s arm to get him drop it, and Joker hisses as the knife hits the floor next to Bruce’s face.

There’s a moment of stillness where they only stare at each other, and then Bruce throws Joker off of him and bangs Joker’s face to the floor with enough strength to get a pained groan out of him. Bruce pushes Joker face first into the ground and twists his arm back, putting pressure on his shoulder to the point it threatens to get dislocated. Joker lets out a sound of protest, but after a few futile attempts to throw Bruce off he stills and eyes at him with a questioning look.

“You calmed down yet?” Bruce asks and waits until Joker nods before easing off of his arm. He lets Joker roll over before grabbing his elbows and pinning him to the ground. Joker looks miffed at the turn of events, but Bruce needs him in control and he’s not trusting Joker to do it himself after he nearly stabbed Bruce’s eye out.

Bruce kisses Joker before he can complain, hard and demanding, more teeth than anything else, and when Joker tires to turn his head away Bruce grabs a hold of his jaw and keeps him still. Joker growls and uses his free arm to push at Bruce’s chest, but Bruce takes advantage of his weight and build and refuses to budge.

There’s blood on their lips by the time Joker calms down, and Bruce presses their foreheads together. Slowly he becomes aware of the glass still embedded in his palm and the fact that it’s digging into Joker’s arm, but Bruce doesn’t have the energy to move just yet though he does ease his hold on Joker to minimize the damage he’s doing to him.

Joker sneaks his free arm around Bruce’s shoulders, and after a moment he eases his legs around Bruce’s waist, his movements slow and unthreatening. When Bruce doesn’t object he tries to pull Bruce closer, but despite Joker’s tentative touch Bruce knows it’s just another attempt at manipulation and when he doesn’t give under Joker’s touch the flash of annoyance that crosses Joker’s eyes confirms it.

“Stop doing that,” Bruce says not unkindly, and Joker looks away. Bruce sighs and presses his face into Joker’s hair, breathing in his familiar scent and allowing it to relax him.

“Look, all I’m saying is that if you love me you’ll at least try to be less of a manipulative bitch,” Bruce mutters into Joker’s hair, hoping to at least get a laugh out of him. He gets what he wants when Joker lets out an incredulous laugh, and Bruce can feel his amused smile press against his neck.

“Can’t believe you called me a bitch,” Joker laughs as he tightens his hold on Bruce, playing with the hairs at the back of his neck and getting blood and wine everywhere. Bruce will have to take a shower before going home.

“And I do love you,” Joker continues so quietly Bruce barely hears it. “That’s the problem.”

The hint of sadness in Joker’s voice makes Bruce lift his head just enough that he can look at Joker’s face, and he catches Joker’s lost expression before he schools his features into a practiced smile. Bruce studies Joker without seeing anything but what Joker allows him to see.

“Talk to me,” Bruce says, serious but not demanding, and gets nothing in return. “You’ve got to tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours,” Bruce continues and smiles at Joker’s eye roll. He gives Joker a moment to think about it, hoping the alcohol and drugs in his system will make him more mellow.

“You’re just so...” Joker huffs in frustration and shakes his head before frowning at Bruce, and Bruce lifts a curious eyebrow. “Normal,” Joker finishes and to Bruce it sounds like he can’t quite believe what he’s saying.

“I don’t do normal,” Joker says like it’s somehow Bruce’s fault he’s having a crisis over their relationship.

“I thought I was weird,” Bruce replies.

“Yeah, but you’re also normal. Just plain old Brucie,” Joker says. Bruce knows what he means, even if he pretends he doesn’t. Harley became special after Joker was through tearing her mind apart. Batman is special, unique like Joker, but Bruce Wayne is just a person who happens to be in a relationship with a homicidal clown.

“What if I wasn’t normal?” Bruce asks a bit tentatively. He won’t let Joker shape him into something he likes but it’s a good way of seeing if the truth about him being Batman will be well received.

“I kinda want you to be normal,” Joker replies and the finality in his voice makes Bruce shut up before he can even begin to entertain the idea of telling Joker the truth.

“I also want you to get off me,” Joker continues, and it takes Bruce a second to realize they’re still lying on the floor in a pool of wine and blood, and there’s glass stuck in their skin that really needs to be looked at. Bruce scrambles to his feet and offers his hand to Joker who accepts it readily and allows Bruce to pull him to his feet.

“I’ll get something for... This.” Joker motions between them, and Bruce nods before sitting down on the window seat and watching Joker walk away. Bruce likes watching Joker walk away, he’s got a sway to his gait that Bruce has always enjoyed, and now that he’s got the permission to look he takes full advantage of it.

His high is gone but he can still feel the alcohol in his system, and when Bruce looks for the wine bottle he sees it shattered on the floor. He considers the situation for a second before getting up and making his way to the nice, old wooden cabinet Bruce is fairly sure Joker has stolen from some socialite. Bruce picks at the glass shard in his palm as he walks, and when he reaches the cabinet he wipes his hands on his clothes and opens the glass door to get to the bottle of scotch Bruce knows is from his own collection.

Bruce is entitled to drink his own scotch, even if it’s in Joker’s possibly stolen cabinet. He gets a glass and grabs the bottle before going back to the window, careful not to step on the glass on the floor. He pours himself a glass of the scotch and downs it in one go before filling the glass again, this time savoring the taste and taking his time finishing the drink.

Joker raises an eyebrow at him when he returns with a pair of tweezers, some thread and a couple of sterile needles. Bruce isn’t sure how he feels about Joker sticking sharp objects into his skin but he’s the one who pushed Joker over the edge even after seeing the warning signs so he’s not sure he’s in any position to complain about it. Joker sets the things in his hands down, his attention zeroed in on Bruce, and Bruce gets the feeling he’s being studied.

Bruce lets Joker do what he wants and focuses on the city and his drink instead. The sun has set and the bright neon lights illuminate the city, and when Bruce looks down he can see a few cars passing by and a group of teenagers trailing behind some local gang members. Bruce doesn’t realize Joker has moved until he hears the camera go off. He turns to smile at Joker, and if the happy little smile on his lips is anything to go by Joker got the picture he wanted to take.

“You know my other side is better, right?” Bruce jokes, and Joker looks up from the camera for a second before snapping another picture. Joker smiles as he sets the camera down and picks up the tweezers, and takes a hold of Bruce’s hand.

“You know what you’re doing?” Bruce asks, more to fill the silence than out of any real concern over Joker’s skills.

“Shut up and finish your drink,” Joker replies and Bruce does as he’s told.

 

* * *

 

It dawns on Bruce he’s never actually spent the night at Joker’s place when he wakes up in the morning, hungover and still covered in dried blood. Because of course Joker couldn’t resist climbing on Bruce’s lap after he’d taken care of the worst of their wounds and start kissing him senseless. Bruce can’t say it out loud but it was the most them thing they’d done in a while. It was something Bruce would’ve imagined they’d start their relationship with, both of them covered in blood, tearing at each other on a floor with Joker’s delighted laughter filling the air.

Bruce isn’t complaining, he had fun, but the last drink might’ve been too much. Or maybe the last three drinks, he’s not sure anymore.

Bruce drags himself into the shower and washes the blood and sweat off his skin without any hurry. Joker is still fast asleep when Bruce gets back to the bedroom, and he digs through Joker’s clothes as quietly as he can. He’s suddenly happy Joker has a tendency to steal his clothes, and he finds a clean shirt and sweats that used to be his easily enough. He just hopes Joker won’t mind too much.

Joker looks too comfortable for Bruce to wake up, so he sneaks out of the room only to be stopped by the sound of someone moving around the kitchen. Bruce tenses, and despite the headache and nausea he feels he sneaks towards the kitchen as quietly as he can. He takes notice of the living room being cleared of the mess they had caused last night as he moves past the sunlit space and tiptoes towards the kitchen. He relaxes when he spots Jonny making coffee, and he leans on the door frame and waits for Jonny to turn around.

“Jesus!” Jonny jumps when he spots Bruce and clasps his hand over his mouth, and Bruce smirks briefly before pushing himself off the wall and walking into the room.

“Anyone ever teach you not to sneak up on armed people?” Jonny’s voice is hushed and annoyed, like he’s trying to compensate for his outburst moments ago.

“Not really,” Bruce replies as he fills himself a glass of water and sits down by the table. Jonny throws a glare at him before focusing on the coffee machine gurgling on the counter.

“You don’t like me,” Bruce observes, and Jonny’s shoulders tense. He stays still for a long moment before turning around to face Bruce, and Bruce keeps his expression friendly.

“I don’t have to like every passing obsession he gets,” Jonny replies and steps closer to Bruce, his eyes cold. “Because no matter what he says that’s what you are, an obsession. Just like that dog. And until he gets over it he’s got a playboy sized blind spot and that’s a big problem for me.” Jonny stops in front of Bruce and places one hand on the table and the other on the back of Bruce’s chair, and leans closer to loom over Bruce.

“I don’t know if he sees it and just doesn’t care or if he’s totally blind when it comes to you, but there’s something very wrong about you and I’m not gonna let you hurt my boss. You even think anything along those lines and I’ll hunt you down and kill you, and no one will ever find your body.” Jonny stares into Bruce’s eyes, unblinking and serious, and Bruce knows he’s not kidding.

“Okay,” Bruce replies. Jonny stares at him for a moment longer before nodding and going back to the counter to get himself a cup of coffee. He pours Bruce a cup too, and sits at the table with his phone in his hands, his focus on it instead of Bruce.

Bruce’s phone beeps to signal an arriving text and Bruce almost sighs in relief, the atmosphere was getting too tense for his liking. He pulls out the phone and skims over the message Alfred had sent him. Bruce isn’t surprised it’s mostly Alfred subtly implying he is missed at home, and that the dog can be picked up at noon. Which means he needs to get home.

“You need a ride?” Jonny asks before Bruce can even think about calling Alfred. Bruce glances up to see Jonny hasn’t looked up from his phone, and he’s still sipping his coffee like he hadn’t threatened Bruce’s life minutes earlier.

“Yeah. I can call Alfred,” Bruce replies as he puts his phone away.

“It’s fine. I’m heading out anyways, gotta take care of the dry cleaning and stuff. You’re paying for gas though,” Jonny says and finishes his coffee before standing up, and Bruce follows his example.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where my clothes are?” Bruce asks when he pulls on his shoes and grabs his coat from the back of the couch he’d dropped it the night before.

“Like I said, dry cleaning,” Jonny replies and waits until Bruce is through the front door before closing it quietly and ushering Bruce out of the building.

Bruce follows Jonny to his car and stays silent during the ride, only telling Jonny he’s going to the manor and handing him the gas money he wanted. The radio fills the tense silence in the car, and though Bruce is glad Joker has someone so loyal at his side he kind of worries for his own safety.

Jonny drops him off at the front door and Bruce manages to sneak into his room without being noticed, and he changes his clothes and makes sure he’s presentable before going to find Alfred. He can’t do anything about the wound on his hand or the thin scrape on his cheek, but he’s fairly certain he’ll be able to explain them away.

Bruce finds Alfred in the kitchen having a late breakfast with Tim, and to his surprise Dick. He greets them and picks up a scone from the plate Alfred has set up on the middle of the table on his way to his usual seat.

“You got a dog?” Dick asks before Bruce can sit down. “I thought that after the chihuahua incident you wouldn’t let any dogs into the house.” Bruce sits down and takes a big bite of his scone to busy himself, and throws a glare at Alfred for telling them about the dog.

“It’s not mine,” Bruce replies eventually. Dick leans forward, obviously curious and ready to dig the truth out of Bruce, and if the amusement in his face is any indication he’ll enjoy every second of it.

“You were out all night,” Dick points out and Bruce refuses to acknowledge him. “You’re never out all night unless you’re on patrol and you weren’t, and you weren’t at the penthouse. I checked, around four in the morning. So either you’ve got a secret hideout we know nothing about or you got a girlfriend.”

“Your deductive skills leave absolutely nothing to be desired,” Bruce deadpans as Alfred pours him a cup of coffee. Bruce thanks Alfred while Dick snorts, and takes a sip of his coffee. He wishes he’d have a newspaper he could open.

“And I don’t have a girlfriend,” Bruce says and takes out his phone, and checks the news feed. It’s not the same effect an actual paper version would give him but he’ll take what he can get.

“So either you’ve got a secret hideout we know nothing about or you’ve got a boyfriend,” Dick says and Bruce almost denies it before thinking it’s not worth the trouble. He throws a withering glare at Dick and Tim who is silently laughing at the exchange.

“Oh my god he’s got a boyfriend.” Tim acts overly shocked and Dick gasps in mock horror. Bruce is too hungover for this. Alfred gets up and says something about some unfinished business he has to do immediately, and Bruce is almost offended he can’t count on Alfred for help.

“Do we know him?” Tim asks while Dick roll his eyes.

“He doesn’t have friends, remember?” Dick points out.

“But he does have a social life. Sort of. He spends a lot of time with criminals. Maybe there was a spark. Some late night conversations on rooftops, someone starts flirting, you know how it goes,” Tim says and Bruce almost reminds them he’s still right there.

“Have you seen anything like that happening?” Dick asks, and they seem to have completely forgotten about Bruce’s presence.

“No, but maybe it was private flirting,” Tim replies, and they both pretend to think it over. Bruce wants them to stop and shut up, but he doesn’t know how to tell them to do so without angering someone or giving something away.

“So it’s someone with a criminal background who regularly spends time alone with Batman, over a longer period of time I’d say, and who is crazy enough to want to flirt with someone who’s main thing is brooding and dressing like a bat,” Tim says, his voice overly thoughtful, and Dick hums and frowns as he rubs his chin. Bruce feels cold all of the sudden, but he clamps his mouth shut and convinces himself the best thing he can do is ignore the teasing to the best of his abilities.

“There’s only one person who fits that description,” Dick states with a solemn voice, and Tim nods before they turn to look at Bruce in unison.

“So what was it like to spend a night with a clown?” Dick asks, and he and Tim manage to keep a straight face for full ten second before cracking up.

Bruce could just laugh it off and forget about it. He doesn’t have to let them know about Joker. But it would be so easy to tell them now that the subject is already on the table, and Bruce is so tired of keeping secrets. He makes a quick decision, hoping Alfred is right, and takes a deep breath.

“It was fine,” Bruce says, and the sudden silence that falls over the table is one of the most oppressive things Bruce has ever experienced. He stares at his coffee instead of Tim and Dick, suddenly feeling unable to look them in the eye. He hears Tim make a strangled noise, followed by a chair scraping against the floor and Dick’s footsteps storming off fast.

“If you’re... I don’t know, sleeping with him or something, then why didn’t you call him when he kidnapped me?” Tim asks, his voice carefully collected. It’s a fair question and Bruce looks up to Tim’s confused face.

“He doesn’t-,” Bruce stops when Dick enters the room again and throws a cold glare at Bruce.

“He doesn’t actually know I’m Batman. And I tried to call him. Continually. He didn’t answer,” Bruce replies and hopes it’s enough for Tim.

“He doesn’t know you’re Batman?” Dick asks and lets out an incredulous laugh. “Now that’s hilarious,” he continues but his voice doesn’t sound amused.

“Wait, what about that time with Harley and him? You said you were on a date,” Tim says and Bruce bites his tongue to keep himself from groaning out loud. There’s no way he’ll admit to being in the car for that, but he can’t deny seeing Joker that day either.

“We had dinner. And then we had a minor fight when he ditched me to go see Harley. I was pissed off so I went to get a drink and cool off,” Bruce replies, telling himself it’s for the best, at least for now.

“Did the week after Arkham went nuts and you disappeared have something to do with Joker?” Tim asks, and Bruce flinches at the memory.

“Yeah. I kind of pushed him down a flight of stairs and I took him to the penthouse because he had a concussion. I couldn’t just go on patrol with him around. And Alfred found out about us when he stopped by,” Bruce admits.

“Well that explains why he was so tense when he came back,” Tim mutters and Bruce almost apologizes for it.

“And the dog?” Dick asks. Bruce relaxes a little when his lie isn’t questioned.

“I don’t know. He had it yesterday and it’s important to him so I didn’t argue,” Bruce says. He’s beginning to relax into his seat, and with Tim and Dick still talking to him things can’t be as bad as he’d imagined they would be.

“What happened to your hand?” Tim points at the bandage on Bruce’s hand, and Bruce laughs it off.

“A wine bottle broke. I was drunk so I didn’t really pay attention to what I was doing,” Bruce explains. They don’t need to know the whole truth.

“You seem to be taking this better than I expected,” Bruce points out, mostly because the lack of anger directed at him is making him feel a bit uneasy.

“I kinda called it,” Tim replies and shrugs when Bruce gives him an incredulous look. He really needs to stop underestimating Tim.

“I don’t know what I feel,” Dick starts and runs his hands through his hair. “I’m not really surprised, I’ve seen the way you two have been dancing around each other for years. I guess I never really thought it’d actually lead anywhere. But I appreciate you being honest about it,” he continues, and Bruce offers him a small smile.

“You’re going to have to let me know if you’re bringing him around though because if I have to be around him I need to know it beforehand,” Dick says and Bruce nods, fully ready to comply with Dick’s understandable request.

“I was actually thinking we could all have dinner or something. Not in the happy family kind of way but I need to make sure he knows how to behave around you.” Bruce shuts up and bites his teeth together, and waits for the response. Tim and Dick share a look and they seem to have a silent conversation before turning to Bruce.

“Not right now. I need some time to work through this,” Dick says and Tim hums in agreement. Bruce gets it and doesn’t hesitate to agree with them.

“Let me know when it’s okay,” he says and takes a sip of his coffee only to find it cold. He grimaces, but decides it’s worth it when Tim smiles briefly and Dick chuckles.

“Just let me tell Barb. I don’t think she’ll listen to you if you try to explain it,” Dick says as he gets up, and after a moment of hesitation Bruce agrees. Dick nods and waves a goodbye, and walks out of the room with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Let me know if he’s coming around. I’ll decide if I want to see him. And tell him the truth, okay? I want to not worry about your boyfriend bludgeoning me to death,” Tim says and waits for Bruce to agree with him before following Dick out of the room.

Bruce groans and buries his face in his hands, feeling exhausted and relieved at the same time. He expects Dick and Tim to get upset with him after the situation sinks in, but maybe it won’t be as bad as Bruce imagined.

“The dog is ready to be picked up,” Alfred’s voice brings Bruce out of his thoughts. Bruce lifts his head to meet Alfred’s eyes, and the soft expression on his face surprises him.

“They’ll be angry when the reality hits them and then they’ll forgive you. Now let’s go get the dog,” Alfred says, and Bruce takes a deep breath before getting up and following Alfred out of the kitchen.

Everything would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I cut around 3k worth of words from this chapter, and this chapter was also mostly one joke from high school after another for some reason, because about 90% of the stuff in here is something me and my friends thought up at school. I have no idea why this happened but it did and I hope you enjoyed it :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm super sorry this took so long but had to finish two English classes and three books for literature class on top of studying for my finals next month. So yeah, I've been crushed by school but since it's my birthday today I figured I'd finally finish editing this as a gift to myself. I'll try to get back to replying to the comments I've gotten from you guys as soon as I can too :)

“I kind of expected there to be more yelling over the relationship than the deal I made with him. You seem to be handling this a lot better. There has been a lot less yelling,” Bruce says one night after returning from patrol. Tim shrugs and takes off his boots without any hurry before turning to face Bruce.

“We already knew you two had a weird relationship and you told us the truth about it. You kept that deal a secret for years and made decisions about our lives without asking for our opinion. There’s a difference. And it’s not like we’re exactly happy with this, it’s just that we can’t really do anything about it,” Tim replies and gives Bruce a look that’s less than happy.

Bruce doesn’t need a reminder his family isn’t happy with him. Barbara had cut all ties to him without a word thrown in Bruce’s direction and after thinking it over for a day Dick had asked Alfred to tell Bruce he’ll be needing some time to deal with everything. Tim is the only one still talking to him, and even their conversations have had an uncomfortable weight hanging over them. Bruce has made a point of not bringing Joker up in hopes it will fix things, but so far it hasn’t been working.

Bruce sits down and starts working his boots off, and some of his frustration and upset must show on his face if the way Tim sighs and slumps in his chair is any indication.

“So how’s the dog doing?” Tim asks, his voice stiff, and Bruce takes a deep breath and runs his hands through his hair. He glances at Tim to make sure he really wants to talk about this, and though he looks a bit uncomfortable he’s leaning forward and looking politely curious.

“I don’t like her. She’s biting me and barking at me all the time. And Joker named her Pumpkin. What kind of a person names a dog like that Pumpkin?” Bruce sighs and shakes his head, and the amused smile on Tim’s face does nothing to ease his mood.

“You do realize you’re talking about Joker, right?” Tim points out. Bruce doesn’t need a reminder.

“He lets her sleep in the bed,” Bruce complains, and Tim laughs without bothering to hide it, and it’s not helpful at all. Bruce bites his lip to keep himself from telling Tim to shut it and gets up to strip the rest of his suit off while Tim gets a grip of himself.

“You’re worse than my classmates,” Tim says and Bruce almost throws a dirty glare at him over his shoulder. He doesn’t need to be compared to a bunch of teenagers, especially by Tim. Bruce changes into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and ignores Tim while he gets out of his suit and goes to take a shower.

Bruce focuses on wrapping up the investigations he’s got going on, and he spares a thought to the lonely file labeled  _ Arkham _ before shutting the computer down. He’d need to talk to Barbara to get the rest of the information on that case, but he doesn’t have the guts to face her at the moment and sending an email or a message doesn’t seem right.

“Look, if you need to talk I can, I don’t know, listen or something,” Tim’s voice comes from behind Bruce and it warms his heart. He turns around to offer Tim a grateful smile and nods, appreciating the sentiment even as he doubts he’ll ever take Tim up on it.

“I mean I don’t like that you’re... Whatever, but Dick can just stay in Bludhaven and Barbara can choose not to help from her home, and the only way I’m getting away from this is if I move out and I don’t want to move out. I’m just trying to understand what you see in him.” Tim sounds almost lost and Bruce turns to face him to make sure he’s okay. Whatever emotion Tim feels is hidden behind a carefully constructed mask of calmness, and Bruce wonders when he got so good at hiding himself.

“If there’s something you want to know just ask, but I don’t know what to tell you that would make you feel any better about this,” Bruce says, honest and close to apologetic, and Tim gives him a joyless smile.

“Just tell me what you see in him,” Tim says, and Bruce has to take a deep breath before answering.

“There’s more to him than the homicidal clown. When it’s just me and him, there’s something more to him.” Bruce knows it doesn’t make a lot of sense but it’s the best explanation he has to offer, and after mulling over his words for a moment Tim nods slowly, and if he doesn’t understand what Bruce means he doesn’t show it.

“Okay. I’m gonna go to bed now. I’ve got to be in school in a few hours,” Tim says and leaves Bruce alone with a wave of a hand as a goodbye.

Bruce waits a few minutes before following Tim out of the cave and heading straight to his bed, intending to get at least a few hours of sleep before doing anything else. Bruce gets to his room and he’s considering getting a quick shower before falling to bed when his phone beeps once, followed by a few seconds of silence before doing so again. The third message arrives almost immediately, and Bruce can’t help but smile a little.

_ Come over _

_ We can have a sleepover _

_ Pumpkin can sleep on the couch _

Bruce should probably ignore it and claim he wasn’t awake if Joker asks, but he still sits down on the edge of his bed and sends Joker a message saying he’s trying to sleep. He knows it won’t keep Joker from bothering him, but at least he’s putting up a little bit of resistance. Bruce is surprised Joker doesn’t text him immediately, and he’s already back at considering the benefits of a shower when his phone rings.

“I’m trying to sleep,” Bruce says as a way of answering.

“But I miss you. We could build a pillow fort,” Joker replies. Bruce rolls his eyes and almost groans when he sees the first rays of sunlight trying to get through the curtains.

“I’ll come over in a few hours. Just let me sleep in for once,” Bruce tries and hopes Joker will listen.

“But I miss your pretty face.” Bruce can hear the pout in Joker’s voice. “Come on sweetie, me and you, depending on the mood a flat surface of some kind,” Joker trails off as a confused expression spreads on Bruce’s face.

“Are you booty calling me?” He asks, barely keeping himself from laughing.

“I was trying to be subtle about it,” Joker replies. Bruce really needs to get some sleep if this is what his day has in store for him.

“Give me an hour,” Bruce sighs instead and hangs up after Joker can gloat over his victory. Bruce pulls himself up to his feet and shuffles to take a shower and brush his teeth before putting on clean clothes. He makes a quick detour to the kitchen to grab something to eat on his way out, and he’s grateful Alfred and Tim are fast asleep as he sneaks around the manor. He leaves them a note saying he’s gone out, trusting them to understand what he means without actually saying it.

The streets are quiet when he drives to Joker’s apartment, and Bruce enjoys the moment of calmness. The city starts to slowly come alive as Bruce drives through it, and he stops at a small bakery that’s opening its doors to get something for Joker and him, and the nice lady behind the counter recommends the pie.

The apartment building is dark and Bruce gives in to the need to keep his steps light as he makes his way inside and up the stairs. He barely gets a chance to knock on Joker’s door before he’s being yanked inside, and then Joker is kissing him and shoving him against the door.

Bruce almost drops the bag in his hands as he hurries to wrap his arms around Joker and pull him closer, all hints of tiredness having disappeared from his body. Joker breaks the kiss too soon but he doesn’t move away, and for a moment they just enjoy the closeness.

”You brought breakfast,” Joker says eventually with a smile on his lips, and Bruce nods in response.

“You’re so sweet,” Joker laughs and presses a soft kiss to the corner of Bruce’s mouth, and closes his eyes. “My sweet, thoughtful darling love,” Joker says quietly against Bruce’s skin, and suddenly Bruce feels cold.

“What was that?” Bruce asks and prays Joker doesn’t notice the tenseness of his voice. Joker lets out a questioning noise and leans back to look Bruce in the eye, confused for a second before laughing it off.

“You’re adorable,” Joker says and smiles, seemingly oblivious to the distress he’s caused Bruce because Joker never calls anyone but Batman darling, and Bruce can’t believe he would be the exception. Bruce doesn’t dare to ask about it in case it was just a slip of a tongue. He doesn’t want to know if Joker knows the truth, not at that moment. So Bruce smiles and pretends everything is fine, and when Joker kisses him again he forces the dread out of his mind.

Joker leads Bruce to the kitchen and takes the pie from him and sets it on the counter before turning to Bruce with an expression that always brings trouble with it on his face.

“Where’s Pumpkin?” Bruce asks to buy himself some time before Joker reveals the reason for the look on his face.

“Jonny took her to the park. They won’t be back for a while,” Joker replies as he takes a step towards Bruce.

“The pie’s going to go cold,” Bruce points out.

“Good thing I’ve got a microwave,” Joker says and stops inches away from Bruce.

“Maybe-”

“Just shut up already,” Joker snaps, looking almost angry for a second before laughing it off. “What’s with the coy act anyways?” He asks sweetly and tilts his head at Bruce.

“You’re making that face,” Bruce replies and Joker raises a curious eyebrow. “Nine times out of ten it doesn’t end well for me,” he continues as an explanation.

“Ten times out of ten you like it,” Joker counters and Bruce can’t really argue with it, but he’d rather not have Joker claw his back open again or get him drunk before most people are even at work.

“And you’ll love this one,” Joker promises. Bruce doubts it, and it must show on his face since Joker scoffs and rolls his eyes, and pulls out a pair of handcuffs. Bruce gives him a blank look in response.

“I already told you you’re not tying me up,” he says, and Joker gives him a patient nod.

“I remember. I also know you like to be in charge and you seem to be under a strange notion that I don’t trust you,” Joker replies, and slowly the realization of what Joker is saying dawns on Bruce.

“Oh.” Bruce bites his lip, unsure of what he’s supposed to do next. Joker looks far too smug as he tangles the handcuffs in front of Bruce’s nose.

“I figured you’d be kinda new to this so I’m just giving you the one pair for now. Unless you wanna get creative,” Joker says like he’s doing some great service to Bruce.

Bruce wonders if he should tell Joker he’s fully aware of the how bondage works, even if Joker isn’t wrong, he hasn’t really tried it. He’d never had a partner he felt the need to tie up, even if he knows how to do it and some of them might have been willing to try it. But Joker is different, and suddenly the idea of him being bound starts to become very appealing, and Bruce blames the many years he’s spent fighting Joker for it. There’s just one problem in it for Bruce.

“Handcuffs are a bad idea. They’ll damage your wrists. That’s why there’s cuffs specifically made for bondage. And rope or something similar. But those will destroy your wrists,” Bruce says, and the surprise spreading on Joker’s face is the best thing Bruce has seen in a few days.

“You do know your stuff.” Joker is so obviously impressed Bruce has a hard time not feeling too proud of himself, and to Bruce’s relief Joker snaps the handcuffs away from his face.

“I know it, doesn’t mean I’ve tried it,” Bruce says, figuring honesty is the best thing at that moment.

“Well lucky you I have,” Joker replies. Bruce almost tells Joker he doesn’t want to do it, but it feels like a lie to him so he keeps quiet and hopes neither one of them will screw this up.

“Since you’ve never done this you don’t get to hogtie me or anything. I’ll let you tie my hands, if you do that well I’ll consider letting you do more,” Joker says. “And you’re right about these handcuffs, but luckily I’ve got years of experience wearing them so I’m not about to bang my wrists on them and injure myself. So you can put them on me, just make sure I’m not lying on them.”

Bruce takes a deep breath through his nose and studies Joker’s face, expecting to see something and finding nothing but trust in Joker’s calculating eyes. Bruce knows there’s an angle here he’s not seeing, but the idea of Joker in those handcuffs is getting more and more appealing, and maybe he doesn’t have to be in on every game Joker plays. He can lose every once in awhile.

Joker takes a step forward so he’s pressed against Bruce’s body, and brings their mouths so close they’re almost touching. Bruce stills in anticipation, waiting for Joker to close that distance between them, but Joker stays still, looking at Bruce through his lashes with a playful gleam in his eyes.

“Come on sweetie,” Joker purrs and brushes his lips against Bruce’s sending sparks down his spine. “Play with me.”

Bruce kisses him, hoping to catch Joker off guard only to have him laugh and step away from him. Bruce furrows his brows minutely as he grabs Joker’s hand and pull him back to him, and Joker kisses him briefly before twisting his hand free and moving out of his reach. Bruce frowns at him, confused by his behavior.

“I should clarify, you can cuff me if you can actually get me in them,” Joker says with a too sweet smile on his lips, and tosses the handcuffs to Bruce as he slowly backs away from him.

Bruce relaxes a little. He knows this, it’s one of Joker’s favorites, a kind of game of catch me if you can, and Bruce can play it well. He also realizes Joker doesn’t expect him to succeed, and suddenly Bruce can’t wait to prove him wrong. Bruce lets Joker put a few feet between them before taking a step towards him, pretending like he’s got no idea how this game works.

Bruce doesn’t bother waiting for Joker to get lulled into a sense of security, but he keeps pretending like he’s got no chance of catching Joker. It’s a dance with very specific steps that remain unchanged even if the scenario is new. Bruce takes a step forward Joker takes one back, Bruce moves right Joker goes left.

Bruce waits for an opening before moving forward fast and taking hold of Joker’s arm, and the surprised noise Joker lets out is one of the best sounds Bruce has heard all day. Joker snakes out of Bruce’s hold easily enough, just like Bruce expected him to, and the excitement in his eyes is worth letting him go. Bruce smirks, challenging and proud he surprised Joker.

“Not bad,” Joker laughs as he back away from Bruce, and Bruce lets him put some distance between them again. He lets Joker dance out of the room, following at a carefully calculated distance. He could bounce and tackle Joker to the ground, but like he’d told to Dick and Jason it’s not about that. It’s the chase Joker likes, and Bruce has learned the hard way it’s better to play along for a while than grab him at the first chance.

Bruce follows Joker to the living room and chases him around the open space, enjoying the familiarity of it all. He almost manages to pin Joker to the couch once but Joker escapes his grasp and waltzes away from Bruce, giggling excitedly and staying just out of reach, daring Bruce to come and get him.

Bruce watches Joker, waiting for an opening to grab him again while Joker keeps the couch between them, and Bruce considers using it to his advantage, he doubts Joker would expect him to be able to get over the couch as fast as he could. Bruce decides he might as well speed things up, and he hops over the couch, and the look of shock on Joker’s face makes him smile for a second.

Despite his surprise Joker doesn’t miss a beat skips back to the kitchen to get away from Bruce, just like Bruce had hoped he would. He’ll have a better chance at cornering Joker in the smaller space. He hurries to follow Joker, and he decides to risk losing the game for a chance to catch Joker sooner rather than later. He lets Joker circle the table, and pretends to try and block his way by moving away from the doorway, giving Joker a chance to bolt to the living room.

Joker doesn’t hesitate to use the new opening, and Bruce moves fast and grabs Joker by the waist before he can get out of the kitchen. Joker yelps in surprise when Bruce lifts him off the ground and cuffs his right wrist in one swift motion, and though Joker manages to push himself off of Bruce he can’t get away since Bruce still has a hold on the cuff on his wrist. Bruce smirks and takes a second to enjoy the miffed look on Joker’s face when he realizes what has happened before yanking Joker back to him.

It’s not easy but Bruce manages to pin Joker against a wall and wrestle his free hand behind his back, and finally he gets his other wrist cuffed as well. Joker stills the second his hands are securely tied, and Bruce takes a moment to calm his breathing before focusing on Joker who looks almost dumbfounded by the situation.

“I honestly didn’t expect you to be able to do that,” Joker says and the look he gives Bruce borders somewhere between impressed and suspicious. Bruce responds by kissing the sensitive spot behind his ear.

“I can take them off if you want,” Bruce offers. Even if he’d like nothing more than take Joker then and there he’s not cruel enough to make Joker do something he doesn’t want to do.

“I can get out of these faster without your help,” Joker replies, and Bruce knows it’s probably true, and it might also be one of the reasons Joker preferred handcuffs to rope.

Bruce takes the fact that he hasn’t escaped the handcuffs yet as a good sign, and he kisses Joker’s neck while Joker tries to decide what he wants to do next. Joker is tense, more tense than Bruce has ever seen him be in handcuffs, and Bruce has no idea what to do to ease his mind. He rubs gentle circles to Joker’s hips and leans his cheek on his shoulder, and offers Joker a small, open smile.

“I hope you realize I’ve never actually let anyone do this before,” Joker says, and though it doesn’t come as a surprise to Bruce it fills him with an emotion he’s not willing to name at that moment. He kisses Joker and it’s sloppy due to the awkward angle, but neither one of them minds it.

“So are you gonna fuck me or was that it?” Joker asks when Bruce pulls away. Bruce takes a moment to look at Joker and takes in his sure if a bit cautious expression, and after he’s certain Joker is serious about this he nods and starts mouthing Joker’s neck. Joker sighs and lets his head thud against the wall, exposing more skin.

“Just don’t ruin my suit, it was expensive,” Joker says and smiles at Bruce over his shoulder.

“I’ll buy you a new one,” Bruce promises, getting a laugh from Joker that turns into a groan when Bruce palms him through the soft fabric his pants. Joker tries to move his hands a couple of times but after he gives up soon. Bruce presses their bodies together, rolling his hips against Joker, savoring every sharp intake of breath Joker takes.

“I’ve got an idea,” Joker says, his voice urgent, as he pushes his hips against Bruce’s.

“What’s your idea?” Bruce asks without paying much attention to Joker’s words, preferring to suck a mark on Joker’s neck.

“I’m gonna blow you,” Joker replies, giving Bruce a stop. He can get behind that idea, he’s imagined that particular scenario more than once, but hearing it from Joker’s mouth is still a little unexpected.

Bruce steps away and pulls Joker after him, turning him around and kissing him properly with his hands in Joker’s hair and back. Joker makes an annoyed noise when he tries to touch Bruce but can’t and Bruce grins against his lips. He doesn’t push Joker to his knees until the lack of oxygen makes his lungs burn, and he’s opening his zipper faster than he’s ever done.

Bruce has barely gotten his jeans down to his thighs before Joker is swallowing his cock and gazing up to him with an almost victorious look in his eyes. Bruce has no idea what that’s about and he can’t get his brain to work well enough to ponder the reasons behind it. Joker sucks Bruce off, bobbing his head up and down in a tantalizing rhythm, pressing his tongue against the underside of Bruce’s cock, working Bruce to the edge with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

It’s maddening and Bruce thinks he’s about to lose his mind, and he curses and glares at Joker when he suddenly stops moving and relaxes his mouth. Joker grins up at Bruce as well as he can, and Bruce has to take a second just to process the situation. Joker raises an eyebrow and pulls back slowly until the tip of Bruce’s cock is resting against his lips, and Bruce glares down at him for a second before deciding he’s not going to let Joker win this round.

Bruce takes a hold of Joker’s face, rubbing soothing circles on his jaw, and keeps Joker’s head still as he pushes his cock back into Joker’s mouth. Joker hums and blinks slowly, and Bruce can practically hear the  _ good job sweetie  _ he knows Joker would say if his mouth wasn’t full. Bruce keeps his pace slow until Joker adjusts his stance a little and nods minutely against Bruce’s hands. Bruce takes a deep breath and holds Joker’s face just a little tighter before shoving his cock into Joker’s throat.

Joker chokes and it sounds better than Bruce ever imagined. He groans as he pulls out of Joker’s mouth, and drives back into his mouth. Bruce had the sense to keep an eye on Joker’s face and make sure he's doing okay as Bruce fucks his mouth, and if the way Joker moans around Bruce is any indication he’s more than fine.

Bruce can feel his orgasm building and his breath hitches, and for a second he considers shooting his load all over Joker’s face before deciding against it. He pulls his cock out of Joker’s mouth, missing the loss of the heat around his erection immediately, and Joker makes an annoyed sound as he tries to get him back into his mouth. Bruce holds his face tighter and tilts his head up to get Joker to look at him in the eye and slow down a little.

The sight of Joker with his lips swollen and his makeup smudged, spit and precum dripping on his chin makes Bruce’s breath catch in his throat. Joker gazes up to him, and the calculating gleam in his eyes is visible even through the haze of lust.

“Okay?” Bruce asks, just to be sure. Joker laughs and smirks at him.

“The day a pair of handcuffs stops me is the day I want to be shot on sight,” Joker replies, his amused voice letting Bruce know he’s fine as he reminds Bruce he only has the illusion of control.

Bruce regards Joker for a few seconds more before pulling him to his feet and kissing him roughly as he backs Joker up to the table. Joker laughs into the kiss, realizing what Bruce is doing and loving every second of it. Bruce shoves Joker down on the table face first, making sure Joker doesn’t hurt himself without the use of his arms.

Bruce doesn’t bother being too nice when he yanks Joker’s pants down. His hands tremble slightly when he pulls the small pack of lube he’d brought with him from his pocket, and he starts working Joker open, a little too fast and rough to feel entirely comfortable, with Joker’s laughter and moans filling the room. It’s like an auditory drug to Bruce, and he’s kicking Joker’s legs further apart and pushing his cock inside him sooner than he probably should.

Joker doesn’t complain but Bruce still gives them both a moment to adjust, taking the opportunity to wipe his hand more or less clean on Joker’s shirt, much to Joker’s dismay if the dirty glare he shoots over his shoulder is anything to go by.

“I’ll get you a new one,” Bruce promises and leans down to kiss Joker before he can respond.

Bruce waits for a few seconds more, moving his lips against Joker’s and running his hands up and down Joker’s back before gripping his hips and breaking the kiss. Bruce keeps a close eye on Joker’s face as he slowly pulls almost all the way out of him before slamming his cock back into Joker, relishing the way Joker’s breath hitches. Bruce repeats the motion, keeping his movements slow and steady as he enjoys the heat around him and the way Joker tries not to grow frustrated with the slow pace.

“Come on sweetie. Show me what you’ve got.” Joker’s voice is almost taunting, and Bruce drives his cock into Joker faster, giving in to his desires. Joker laughs, and when Bruce leans up and starts driving his cock into Joker at a hard pace Joker’s laughter is broken by his moans, and Bruce lets himself enjoy Joker’s body.

Joker’s breath hitches, and for a moment he’s silent before he laughs again, his face pressed against the table, and the sound of it rings in the room. It reminds Bruce too much of the way Joker laughs when they’re fighting. He lets the sound fill his ears for a few more seconds before growling and wrapping his hand around Joker’s throat, squeezing it slightly and silencing him in an instant.

Bruce gets lost in the moment, and it doesn’t take long for him to start getting close to his orgasm. He groans and starts jerking Joker off, refusing to come before him. Joker moans and the vibrations of it shoot up Bruce’s hand and arm, and all it takes for him to tense and come all over the table, his clothes and Bruce’s hand is a couple of carefully timed twists of Bruce’s fist.

Bruce follows him a few seconds later, and he barely has the chance to follow through on a sudden idea and pull out before he comes on Joker’s clothes and hands. Joker’s too out of it to realize what happened, and Bruce lets go of his throat and rests his head on Joker’s shoulder, trying to catch his breath and not caring about the mess he’s created.

“You’re paying for the suit,” Joker mutters. Bruce nods against the soft fabric of Joker’s shirt, shifting his head just enough to breathe a little easier.

“Shower?” Bruce asks, and Joker hums in agreement and nudges Bruce with his elbow. Bruce is about to ask Joker if he needs help getting out of the handcuffs when Joker pulls his arms from between them and stretches them, the cuffs still tangling on his wrist. Bruce isn’t even surprised by it anymore, instead he pulls Joker off the table and kicks his jeans off and stretches his neck to keep the stiffness from his muscles.

Joker follows his example and strips all his clothes off, and walks away without bothering to see if Bruce follows him or not. Bruce rolls his eyes and quickly cleans the mess they’d made to the best of his abilities before picking up their discarded clothes and following Joker.

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce has to justify needing a change of clothes to Joker, but in the end he convinces Joker him having breakfast while naked isn’t worth it when Bruce is tired from too little sleep and his skin is still damp from the shower. Joker grumbles but let's Bruce dress as long as he won’t complain the next time Joker steals his clothes. Bruce promises to do his best and smiles while Joker goes to re-apply his makeup.

Joker heats the pie up and makes them coffee while Bruce sits by the table, trying to figure out what the morning had been about. He stays quiet even when Joker hands him his pie and coffee before sitting down with his own breakfast and pulling his phone out, and Bruce would think Joker was ignoring him if it wasn’t for the way his leg brushes against Bruce’s every once in awhile.

“So what did you get out from that?” Bruce asks five minutes into the silence. Joker raises his eyebrow slowly, but doesn’t move his attention from his phone.

“Which answer do you want?” Joker counters and sips his coffee. He glances at Bruce with sharp eyes so quickly Bruce almost misses it.

“The truth,” Bruce replies, his voice serious.

“I think it’s really sexy when you get all bossy and dominant,” Joker deadpans and faces Bruce just long enough to give him a saccharine smile and bat his eyes before returning his attention to his phone. Bruce gives Joker a withering glare, and after a moment Joker sighs and turns to Bruce with a patient look on his face.

“You know how dogs play with their pups?” Bruce shakes his head, not liking where Joker’s going with this at all.

“Well they’re very sweet. Sometimes the mommy lets the pups win a fight and make her submit because it’s good for them. You’re the puppy who’s pretending to be all tough and shit and I’m the mommy who’s letting you pretend to be all tough and shit,” Joker explains far too patiently, and Bruce isn’t sure if he should be offended or disturbed by the explanation.

“That might be the single most messed up thing you’ve ever said to me,” Bruce replies, trying to keep his voice calm even as he kind of wants to be mad with Joker.

“Please. I look amazing in drag.” Joker winks and grins at Bruce, and Bruce focuses on his coffee instead of him. It’s not worth the fight, but his budding desire to stay and sleep in Joker’s bed has been crushed. He finishes his coffee and pie, and waits for Joker to acknowledge him before getting up.

“I have to go home,” Bruce says, almost apologetic, and Joker sighs and pouts for a moment before nodding. Bruce puts his plate and mug away before leaning over to kiss Joker’s temple on his way out.

He gets out of the apartment and he moves quickly and quietly down the stairs, and he’s almost at the front door when he runs into Jonny and Pumpkin. The dog starts barking and yanking her leash the second she spots Bruce, and Bruce has to stop in his tracks and wait until Jonny gets her under his control again before he dares to relax.

“Figured there was a reason I got dragged to walk a demon at ass o’clock in the morning,” Jonny grumbles as a greeting, and Bruce offers him a polite smile and a shrug as a response.

“Sorry,” he replies even though he doesn’t really mean it.

“Whatever,” Jonny says and walks past Bruce with Pumpkin in tow. Bruce manages to take one step forward before Jonny calls after him, and there’s something about the seriousness of his expression that makes Bruce pay extra attention to him.

“He’s gonna be busy for a few days. If he’ll need me around there’s nobody to look after the dog.” Jonny doesn’t quite meet Bruce’s eyes, and Bruce knows there’s something going on he should know about, but he can’t push it and he hates it.

“Let me know if you need help,” Bruce says, and though he doesn’t like the dog much he’s not going to let it suffer either.

“I’ll steal your number from his phone,” Jonny says, almost joking, and Bruce nods before turning around and hurrying out of the door. He’s got a feeling he needs to be home.

Bruce tries not to break any traffic laws as he speeds through the streets, and somehow he gets to the manor without attracting any attention with his less than ideal driving style. Alfred is already awake and Tim must have just left for school. Bruce tries and fails to sneak past Alfred on his way to bed, and though Bruce tries to act like nothing is going on Alfred still raises a knowing eyebrow at him and shakes his head minutely as he continues on his way without a word.

Bruce slips into his room and crawls into bed, and the only reason he doesn’t sleep all day is because Alfred drags him up a few hours later. Bruce grumbles and complains but he does get up, and he even sits down to eat the small meal Alfred has set out for him before going on about his day. He mulls over stopping by Wayne Enterprises until Lucius sends him a message saying all is well, and though Bruce suspects Alfred may have asked him to do so he takes his word for it and stays home.

Bruce spends the day doing the work that doesn’t get done now that Barbara isn’t having any contact with him. Tim gives him a had when he has the time, and though they’re still a uneasy around each other there’s a friendliness in Tim that makes Bruce grateful he let Tim into his life.

“This Arkham thing is never going to be solved,” Tim declares a few hours into reading the financial records and rubs his tired eyes, and a part of Bruce wants to agree.

“We should take a break and come back to this in a few days,” Bruce says, and Tim closes his file and gets up to stretch his legs without further prompting. Bruce finishes going through the file on Arkham’s patient records before pushing himself up and walking around the cave to get his blood flowing and the stiffness off of his muscles.

He should be getting ready for patrol, and with Joker apparently busy for a few days he really should be making sure nothing bad is going on in his city. He’d rather not give Joker the advantage by ignoring him if he’s about to do something stupid. He’s not sure he should take Tim with him, but Bruce doubts leaving him behind would go well.

“You’re not leaving me here,” Tim says, reading Bruce’s thoughts, and Bruce bites his lip to keep himself from smiling.

“Wasn’t going to,” he replies, and if the look Tim gives him is any indication he doesn’t believe Bruce, but he doesn’t push it either.

Bruce waits until the sun sets before pulling the batsuit on and hitting the streets, and he lets Tim do his own thing that night. Tim gives him a look but doesn’t question his freedom, and Bruce tells himself Tim will be fine on his own as he heads towards the Amusement Mile.

Bruce doesn’t find Joker, and he’s not really surprised by it. Instead he goes through a dozen of Joker’s goons before starting to accept they aren’t going to tell on their boss no matter what he threatens to do. It sends chills down Bruce’s spine, and he goes as far as to give Alfred Joker’s phone number and ask him to locate the phone, hoping Joker has it with him. Alfred is quiet for a second before doing just what Bruce asked of him.

“His phone seems to be at his home,” Alfred’s regretful voice informs Bruce after a minute, and Bruce curses under his breath before he can stop himself.

“Is something wrong?” Alfred sounds as polite and neutral as he can, and Bruce takes a moment to consider his options.

“Jonny said he would be busy for a few days. He was weird this morning and now I can’t find him,” Bruce admits finally, and Alfred hums while Bruce hops from one roof to another.

“Have you considered he might be home?” Alfred asks. Bruce hasn’t, but Alfred doesn’t need to know that.

“He’s up to something. I know it,” Bruce replies, and to his relief Alfred doesn’t push it. He knows Joker, and he knows something is wrong. He can feel it in his gut.

“I’ll stay out a bit longer,” Bruce says eventually, and though Alfred acknowledges him he doesn’t sound too thrilled. ”You can always go to bed if you’re tired,” Bruce says just because he knows it’ll annoy Alfred.

“Don’t be insulting,” Alfred scoffs, and Bruce smiles before cutting the communication off and continuing on his way.

There’s no sign of Joker anywhere, but around dawn Bruce gets a message from Alfred saying someone had dropped a suspicious box addressed to Batman at Gordon’s current precinct. Bruce thanks him and rushes towards his new destination. Tim is already at the roof of the building, talking with Gordon in serious tone, and Bruce waits until they’ve both finished their sentences before joining them. Gordon points to the box sitting a few feet from him and lights a cigarette.

“That’s for you. We scanned it. There’s no explosives or anything like that in it but we didn’t open it,” Gordon says. Bruce moves to the box, cautious and curious at the same time, and studies it for a moment before picking it up.

The box is big enough that Bruce has to grab it with both of his hands, but it’s light enough to hold in one hand, and Bruce opens the box and peeks inside, finding nothing but old newspaper clippings. He frowns and moves the papers around, but he sees nothing of importance in the box.

“This came with it,” Gordon says and hands Bruce an envelope. Tim takes the box from Bruce, and Bruce uses the opportunity to open the envelope and pull the pink slip of paper out of it. It smells like cheap floral perfume and Bruce’s head begins to hurt from it. He tries to keep his breaths to the required minimum as he opens the note, and his heart stops for a second when he realizes who it is from.

_ Wanna make a trade? _

It has to be Joker.

Bruce can feel Tim staring at him expectantly and Gordon is shifting his weight from one foot to another behind him, and it’s almost too much. There has to be a clue in the box if Bruce can only figure it out, and he’ll need to be at the cave to do that.

“I’ll deal with this,” Bruce says, and motions for Tim to follow him before heading to the car he’d parked a few blocks down. Tim struggles a little with the box at first, but he figures it out soon enough and manages to keep up with Bruce.

They get into the car and the ride back home is silent. Bruce takes the box from Tim once they’re at the cave, and he doesn’t wait to see if Tim follows him or not as he makes his way to the nearest table and empties the box on it. At first it seems like there’s nothing of interest, but then he spots the Polaroid among the newspaper clippings.

Bruce takes a shaky breath before picking the picture up, and suddenly he feels like someone poured a bucket of ice water over his head. It’s a picture of a girl, probably no older than four, and she looks scared. Bruce doesn’t even realize he’s shaking until Tim grabs his wrist and takes the picture from him.

“I’ll check if anyone has reported their kid missing,” Tim says, and Bruce thinks he might have thanked him for it. Tim says something to Alfred but Bruce can’t quite make it out, and he’s not sure he wants to know what it was. He checks the time and it’s too late for him to go out in full costume, but he’s not sure how he’s supposed to leave a child alone with Joker for a whole day.

Bruce forces his legs to move, and he gets out of the batsuit and into a shower more out of habit than anything else. He can’t do anything at that moment except check if Joker’s phone is still at his place, and even if that were to be true it wouldn’t mean Joker was there.

Bruce gets back to the cave where Alfred and Tim are studying the computer screens with grim expressions. Bruce makes his way to them, already dreading what they have to say to him. Alfred is the first to acknowledge Bruce’s presence, and if the look on his face is anything to go by the news aren’t good.

“The child was reported missing by her father. She’s from the Narrows, her mother is dead,” Alfred says. Bruce considers the new information, not quite understanding why Joker would kidnap a child from the Narrows and not from some more respected area.

“The police think the father had something to do with it,” Tim says, his attention still glued to the computer screen.

Suddenly Bruce understands why Joker picked this particular child. If the police is focused on looking at the father they won’t be looking for other possible suspects, and Joker needs that right now.

“But the real question is, who really took the kid?” Tim turns to face Bruce, and though Bruce knew this would happen he’s not sure how to deal with it.

“Joker,” Alfred sighs before Bruce can decide how to best explain the situation. Something must have showed on Bruce’s face. Tim groans and turns away from Bruce, and Alfred shakes his head stares at Bruce like he can’t quite believe what’s happening.

“Look, all I need to do is take his knife back to him and he’ll let the child go,”  Bruce says and his voice sounds too calm even in his own ears.

“What knife?” Tim asks. Bruce hadn’t realized he hasn’t told them about the knife he still has.

“I have one of his knives. He’s had it since day one and I guess it’s got some sentimental value to him. I forgot to give it back,” Bruce explains, wishing he’d just given the knife back to Joker weeks ago so this wasn’t happening, and going by the looks on their faces Tim and Alfred seem to be sharing the same thought.

“I’ll just go take it to him and the kid can go home before lunch,” Bruce says and starts towards the safe he’d hidden Joker’s knife in.

“You can’t exactly go find him as Batman right now,” Tim points out.

“I know. But luckily I happen to know where he lives,” Bruce says, stopping to look at Tim’s almost shocked expression.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go to him in that state of mind and, by the way, let him know you’re Batman,” Tim says, and Alfred nods behind him. Bruce sighs, not understanding what the problem is but deciding to entertain Tim anyways.

“He’s going to find out sooner or later. And I’m not mad at him if that’s what you’re worried about. This is my fault and he’s just doing what he always does.” Bruce crosses his arms and gives Tim what must look like a condescending smile if the glare he receives is anything to go by.

“Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m worried about. You’re not thinking this through,” Tim says, taking a step closer to Bruce and looking ready to fight if he has to. “Just wait until evening and we’ll take care of this then.”

Bruce doesn’t want to wait. He could get that girl home in a matter of few hours if he’d just go to Joker now, and though he gets where Tim is coming from he doesn’t agree with him. He’s not angry or upset so he doesn’t see what the big problem is.

“Perhaps breakfast would be a good idea at this time?” Alfred turns to leave without waiting for an answer, and after staring at Bruce a moment longer Tim follows him.

Bruce stays behind, he doesn’t really feel like eating, and he can do without the judgmental attitude too. He sits down by the computer and turns it on, but he doesn’t get further than that. He’s not sure what he should do. Bruce sighs and rubs his face with his hands, and figures he can at least get the knife out of the safe already. He can wait until evening to take it to Joker, even if it’s just to prove Tim wrong.

Bruce gets the knife but he doesn’t leave it in the cave like he should. Instead he takes it with him when he leaves the cave and heads straight to his room.

 

* * *

Bruce makes it to the afternoon before calling Joker, and to his dismay the call goes straight to voicemail. He gives Joker an hour to call back but he never does, and Bruce decides he’ll just stop by Joker’s place and make sure he’s not near the child, and if he happens to slip the knife into his pocket it’s not because he intends to give it to Joker.

Bruce sneaks through the manor and he reaches the garage without being seen easily enough. He takes his motorcycle and speeds off, ignoring the way his chest constricts as he nears the city. He’ll just keep Joker busy until the sun goes down, that’s all he needs to do.

Bruce parks the bike before hurrying inside the building and rushing up the stairs until he’s standing at Joker’s front door. He takes a shaky breath and knocks, and Pumpkin starts barking almost immediately. Nobody comes to open the door though, so Bruce knocks again, harder and more urgently this time.

It seems to take forever but eventually the lock clicks and Joker opens the door. He’s got his warpaint on, though it’s faded and smudged like he’d fallen asleep in it. Joker eyes Bruce for a few long seconds before stepping aside and letting him enter, nudging Pumpkin away from the door as he leaves Bruce alone without a word. Bruce steps inside, but he doesn’t follow Joker into the apartment.

Bruce stays by the door, unable to move forward and unsure of what he’s there to do, and before he knows it Joker is standing before him with an almost concerned frown on his face. Bruce stares at him and tries to come up with the right words, but his brain remains blank. Hell just say the first thing that pop into his mind if Joker doesn’t give him something to latch onto.

“So what can I do for you?” Joker asks eventually, sounding more like he’s asking because Bruce isn’t saying anything than out of any real curiosity. Bruce tries to answer but he can’t figure out what to say. Instead he reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket, hesitating only for a moment before pulling the knife out and offering it to Joker.

Joker shuts down.

There’s no surprise or confusion in his eyes, he’s not questioning why Bruce has his knife, and maybe Bruce should’ve seen it coming. Joker won’t meet his eyes or even glance at the knife, and it should make Bruce worried but instead he gets confused. He’s not sure what he was expecting but this wasn’t it.

“Why’d you wanna ruin this now?” Joker’s voice is quiet and the hurt edge in it catches Bruce off guard. He doesn’t see how he’s ruining anything by giving Joker exactly what he has wanted for years. He doesn’t understand Joker’s reaction.

Bruce doesn’t get a chance to ask Joker what he means before Joker turns on his heels and moves away from Bruce. He doesn’t even glance at the knife as he goes. Bruce stares at him in dumbfounded silence for a few seconds before snapping out of it and hurrying after Joker, placing the knife on the shelf so Joker will have one weapon less if he decides to attack.

Bruce catches up to Joker and grabs his arm to stop him from fleeing, and shoves him against a wall for good measure though he uses far less force than he usually would. Joker throws a brief glare at Bruce before averting his eyes, and though he presses his free arm against Bruce’s chest he doesn’t fight Bruce’s hold.

“How am I ruining anything?” Bruce asks, doing his best not to sound annoyed. Joker’s face twitches as he suppresses the flash of emotion crossing over his features before Bruce can identify what it was, and focuses his eyes somewhere over Bruce’s shoulder, grinding his teeth together as he does so. Bruce barely resists the urge to shake Joker to get him to talk but he knows it wouldn’t work, not when he’s that shut off.

“We were fine,” Joker mutters suddenly, almost like he’s speaking more to himself than to Bruce. The realization that Joker already knows the truth hits Bruce out of nowhere and he feels stupid for not seeing it sooner. Of course Joker figured it all out, and Bruce was an idiot for not seeing it sooner. It’s not like Bruce hadn’t had his suspicions about it before, he’d just come up with reasons and excuses to ignore the possibility.

“But this is what you’ve always wanted,” Bruce says, confused as to why Joker isn’t happy. “What’s the problem with-”

Joker stops Bruce by covering his mouth with his hands and making a series of urgent noises to drown out any words Bruce might have wanted to say. Bruce frowns and tries to figure out what’s going on in Joker’s head, but he can’t come up with anything that would make sense.

“Don’t make it worse,” Joker says, his voice almost pleading, and Bruce lets go of his arm. This is not how he expected things to go. He pushes Joker’s hands off of his mouth and bites his lip before taking a deep breath, trying to come up with the best way to fix the mess he’s caused before it gets out of hand.

“Why is this an issue if you already knew the truth?” Bruce asks, hoping to get some clarity to the situation. Joker shakes his head and throws his hands up, and Bruce has to take a step back to avoid being slapped.

“I don’t know anything,” Joker says without looking at Bruce and it sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself of it than Bruce. It does nothing but confuse Bruce even further, and he’s starting to think Tim was right and he should’ve stayed at home and waited until the evening.

“I just don’t understand what the problem is,” Bruce says, his voice more quiet than he intended. Joker sighs and offers Bruce a sad smile, and after a few long seconds he reaches up to cup Bruce’s face, his touch too gentle to ease Bruce’s mind.

“Can’t you just be my Brucie? We’re good like this right? Just be my sweet, normal Brucie.” Joker’s smile wavers and Bruce almost gives him what he wants, even if he doesn’t still fully understand the situation. It takes all of Bruce’s willpower to not give in just to make Joker happy again, but he reminds himself of the little girl Joker is still holding hostage and tells himself he has to trust Joker to get over his issues and be able to handle the truth.

“Where’s the girl?” Bruce asks, and though seeing the betrayal and hurt in Joker’s eyes makes Bruce hate himself he stands his ground.

“I don’t know,” Joker replies, and his voice has taken a cold edge to it.

“This isn’t a game. You have your knife back so let the girl go.” Bruce steps closer to Joker without thinking about it and stares at Joker, making sure his expression remains calm as he tries to will Joker into giving him what he wants.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Joker insist. It takes Bruce a split second to decide that if he can’t get through to Joker playing nice he can always try the old trusted method, and he shoves Joker against the wall and pins him there, pressing his forearm against Joker’s throat as a silent warning. Joker lets out a surprised grunt before the situation hits him, and he tries to push Bruce away without any luck.

“I’m not playing. You’ll let the girl go if you know what’s good for you,” Bruce growls and levels Joker with a hard glare. Joker narrows his eyes in response and grinds his teeth together, refusing to give Bruce what he wants. It’s frustrating and infuriating but Bruce knows not to give into those emotions.

It doesn’t take long before Bruce starts to doubt if getting violent with Joker is the right thing to do after all, and after a moment of hesitation he moves to grab Joker’s face instead, keeping his touch firm but kind, and waits until Joker stops fighting him and meets his eyes. Bruce offers Joker a brief smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes and hopes he’s doing the right thing.

“I get that you’re upset but I need you to stop taking it out on other people,” Bruce says, making sure to keep his voice steady and calm while Joker tries to shake his head and push Bruce away. “Be mad at me if that’ll make you feel better but you’ve got everything you ever wanted-”

“This isn’t what I want!”

Bruce freezes at the angry and hurt, almost desperate edge in Joker’s voice. He can’t remember ever hearing it before and he’s not sure what his response should be. He stares at Joker, meeting his eyes and trying to find an answer in them, but seeing nothing but hurt and anger directed solely at him. Bruce doesn’t understand it. Him being Batman should have made Joker happy.

“You’re so stupid. Why couldn’t you just be my Brucie?” Joker glares at Bruce for a moment before shoving him away with all the strength he has and striding away as soon as he gets the chance.

Bruce lets him go. He’s too stunned to do much else.

It takes Bruce a minute but he manages to get a grip on himself and follow Joker, thinking he should at least make sure Joker will let the child go even if he can’t manage to calm Joker down.

Bruce finds Joker in the kitchen feeding Pumpkin pieces of dried meat, and Bruce keeps his distance until he’s sure it’s safe for him to approach Joker again. Pumpkin growls at him, chowing down her slice of meat faster like she’s afraid Bruce will steal it if she isn’t careful. Joker doesn’t shoo Pumpkin away like he usually does in Bruce’s presence, instead he keeps offering her more slices of meat and making a point of ignoring Bruce. Rather than try to get a reaction from Joker Bruce sighs and sits on a chair closest to Joker while still maintaining a safe distance to Pumpkin and her razor sharp teeth. He doubts Joker would stop her from mauling him in his current mood.

Bruce lets the silence continue for a few minutes longer before nudging Joker with his toes to get some kind of a reaction out of him. Joker snarls but doesn’t turn to face Bruce, and it’s all Bruce needs to see to know Joker hasn’t calmed down yet. Bruce bites his lip and thinks of what he should do next. He could understand Joker being upset because Bruce kept such a big secret from him, but this isn’t it. He’s mad because  _ Bruce  _ is Batman.

Bruce barely keeps himself from laughing. This is the one thing he never prepared for, and if he’s right and Joker had already figured everything out then he’s even better at denial than Bruce is. At least Dick will have a great time with that.

“How about this, I’m going to go home, sleep until morning, and tomorrow I’ll hopefully hear that that little girl is back with her father, and I’ll ask Alfred to make a cheesecake. I’ll see if he can put both chocolate and strawberries in it and then you can come over and we’ll pretend this never happened if that’s what you want,” Bruce says, hoping it’s what Joker needs to hear at that moment.

Joker doesn’t give him any indication of hearing him, but Bruce still waits patiently for a few long minutes before nodding and getting up. He’ll have to trust Joker to do what’s right, and maybe that’s the best thing he can do at that moment. It’d usually be the last thing Bruce would willingly do, trust another person’s life in Joker’s hand when he’s this upset, but he’s got a feeling trying to force Joker into anything won’t go well at that time and that he’s doing the right thing by leaving. He’ll worry all night but hopefully his instincts are right.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Bruce doesn’t expect and answer and he doesn’t get one, but he still gives Joker a chance to change his mind and say something. When it becomes obvious Joker has had enough of Bruce’s company Bruce sighs and leaves him alone to feed his dog.

He’ll stay up until the child is safe, and tomorrow he’ll put on the best act he can to play along Joker’s fantasy.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is not my best editing ever but I'm tired because of school so I hope you'll forgive me. I'll work on the next chapter after I've recovered from the finals, so the next update will be a month away. Hopefully it'll be worth the wait :)
> 
> btw if anyone is wondering where this fic got its name [this is it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bmp4QWzHak).


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So an old riding injury started acting up on my wrist and I couldn’t even twitch my fingers without being in pain and the doctors didn’t believe me when I tried to tell them that I just needed some pain killers. They insisted on a round of x-rays and mri machines and it was as horrible as it was two years ago. Who ever designed mri machines could've made them less loud. Seriously. But it’s better now so that’s all that matters. I’m slowly getting back to writing now that I’m not in literal pain anymore. Yay!

Bruce doesn’t go on patrol that night. He doesn’t feel up to it and he’d told Joker he wouldn’t do it. Instead he goes to the penthouse to avoid being judged by Alfred and Tim and tries not to let his emotions get the better of him. Tim calls Bruce a few hours later to ask if Bruce will be joining him on patrol, and Bruce declines without offering him an explanation. He tells Tim go out on his own and pulls out a bottle of wine, settling in for a long night of waiting around to hear if Joker let the child go or not.

A few hours before dawn breaks Bruce gets a text from Tim telling him the girl has been found wandering the streets near the GCPD, and that she was unharmed save for the trauma of being kidnapped and having been fed nothing but sweets for a whole day. Bruce doesn’t respond to the text, but the weight he’d been carrying around all night leaves his shoulders and he smiles at the empty room. He almost sends Joker a thank you text before remembering he’s supposed to be asleep and not having a drink on his own at the penthouse, and knowing Joker he suspects such a text wouldn’t be something he’d appreciate under the circumstances.

Bruce downs the last of his drink and figures he might as well get some sleep for a change. Joker did what Bruce asked, and Bruce will have to keep his end of the bargain come morning, and he’d rather be well rested for that. He has no idea what mood Joker will be in, and though he’s gone over their encounter over a dozen times he can’t tell if Joker will calm down as fast as he hopes.

After having thought about Joker’s behavior for hours the best explanation Bruce has come up with is that Joker has grown attached to the relationship he has with Bruce and he’s not ready to let that go yet. Bruce is a little touched by it even if it’s causing him problems. He never imagined he’d get Joker to feel so deeply for him just by being himself. He certainly never imagined that in Joker’s eyes Bruce Wayne could be a more appealing choice than Batman.

Or maybe it’s not that Joker would have Bruce over Batman, but rather he’d have Batman be someone other than Bruce and have both of them in his life as different people. It’s enough to make Bruce laugh, and he figures he should’ve seen it coming, if for no other reason than it being Joker he’s dealing with. Nothing is ever simple with him.

Bruce pushes Joker out of his mind as he falls onto his bed, suddenly exhausted by everything that has happened. He can’t wait to get to the manor to hear Tim and Alfred tell him how he screwed up and how he should have listened to them. He’s almost hoping they won’t say anything before thinking that silence would probably be even worse than them calling him out on his actions.

He falls asleep trying to convince himself that everything would be fine in the morning, and he wakes up too soon when his phone rings. Bruce buries his face into a pillow and wonders if he can get away with not picking up, but in the end he reaches for the phone and answers it, knowing there’s no point in hoping it would be Joker calling him. He’s not surprised to hear Alfred’s voice tell him he’s missed at home, and after a few long seconds of trying to come up with a way to explain the current situation and failing he sighs and accepts defeat. He promises Alfred he’ll be home as soon as he’s had his breakfast. It will give him at least an hour to come up with a way to explain the situation to the others.

Alfred and Tim are waiting for him with less than happy expressions on their faces, and Bruce almost regrets not taking longer to come up with a viable explanation for what he had done. He can tell Tim and Alfred are just waiting for the perfect opening to tell him off, and though Bruce can admit he kind of deserves it he doesn’t feel like being scolded, so he hurries past them and heads straight to the kitchen in hopes of finding freshly brewed coffee waiting for him. Tim and Alfred follow him without saying a word, making sure Bruce knows there’s no escaping the situation no matter how much he might want it.

“Everything is fine,” Bruce snaps once he reaches the kitchen, not giving Tim or Alfred a chance to speak first. “He let the kid go like I asked, that’s what matters,” he continues, making sure his voice is more calm, and turns his attention to the coffee waiting for him as he had expected. He knows it won’t happen, but he still hopes that was the beginning and end of any talk about what had happened between him and Joker last night.

“So you just told him the truth and now everything’s perfect in the world?” Tim’s unbelieving voice comes from the doorway and Bruce makes a face at his cup before turning to face him.

"I’ll admit it could’ve gone a little better but nobody is about to be murdered so don’t worry about it. He might even stop by today,” Bruce replies and forces a smile before focusing on his coffee. He doesn’t have to look at Tim to know he’s weighing the benefits of continuing the conversation, but to Bruce’s relief he walks out of the kitchen, leaving him alone with Alfred. It’s one less thing he needs to worry about at that moment.

“Was he upset about you lying to him?” Alfred asks in that tentative voice Bruce hates hearing from him.

“No.” Bruce doesn’t want to talk about it. He doesn’t want to deal with the situation, at least not without thinking about it more and coming up with a way to handle it.

“Then what’s the problem?” Alfred still asks. If it was anybody but him Bruce might tell them to bug off, but it’s Alfred, so Bruce turns around and faces him, and for once he lets the uncertainty he feels show on his face.

“He doesn’t want me to be Batman,” Bruce replies, and laughs at the absurdity of the situation. Of all the things that could have gone wrong this had never even entered his mind. He hadn’t really thought of it as reality until the words left his lips, but the truth is staring him in the face and he can’t run from it, no matter how much he might want to.

Alfred raises a surprised eyebrow before taking a seat by the table, patiently waiting for Bruce to explain the situation further. Bruce sighs and sits next to him, figuring there’s no point in trying to run from Alfred the same way he’d done with Tim. He takes his time to figure the right words to say, trusting Alfred to not take it the wrong way.

“He knew the truth already,” Bruce admits and glues his eyes to his coffee cup. “He just doesn’t want Bruce Wayne and Batman to be the same person because, apparently, he likes me just the way I am.”

“Well, there is a certain sweetness to that,” Alfred offers after a while, and Bruce throws a disbelieving glance in his way before shrugging in defeat. He gets Alfred’s point, but it’s not helping him with his problem.

“I asked him to come over,” Bruce starts before realizing he’s repeating himself. “I might have promised him I’d ask you to make a strawberry chocolate cheesecake. I don’t know if he’s coming but he’ll probably ask for it if he does,” he continues when Alfred looks at him curiously, and Alfred offers him a nod in response.

“I’ve been meaning to practice my cheesecake making skills,” he says before getting up with a too understanding smile on his lips, and Bruce has to swallow down a sudden burst of contempt. He doesn’t like that look, especially when it’s directed at him, and if Alfred sees how little Bruce appreciates it he doesn’t let it bother him as he leaves the room.

Bruce has no idea what to do, and though he hopes Joker will come by and they can pretend the previous evening never happened a small part of Bruce wishes Joker won’t show up, if for no other reason that Bruce has no idea how he will deal with Joker after everything that happened. He feels like he needs to get some more time to process everything and come up with a good plan to make things work again, and he can’t do that with Joker around. Worse yet Joker might take his anger on Bruce out on Tim and Alfred.

Still, despite Bruce’s initial shimmer of hope that Joker might stay away he grows more worried as the day passes and there’s no sign of him. As the sun begins to set Bruce tries to call Joker, only for the call to go straight to voicemail, and after a moment of hesitation he sends Joker a text saying he’s welcome to stop by any time he wants. He figures that since his secret is out, no matter how little Joker likes it, there’s no point in trying to completely ignore it even if they’re not talking about it. If nothing else nobody has to start lying to Joker if he was to show up while Bruce was on patrol.

He doesn’t get a reply, and though Bruce does go out on patrol with Tim his focus is less than perfect and he ends up getting a crowbar to his face as a result. Tim doesn’t say anything, but Bruce can tell he’s not impressed with Bruce’s behavior. Bruce isn’t that happy with himself either.

He hasn’t gotten any kind of reply to his text to Joker when he gets home, and Bruce can’t help but worry over it. For the first time in a long time he can’t fall asleep despite feeling exhausted from the patrol. When he finally falls into a light slumber he wakes up panting from a nightmare he can’t remember, but the feeling of suffocating lingers a little bit too long for Bruce to just brush it off. He doesn’t fall asleep after it, and by the time he has to get up he feels the effects of it.

Alfred tells him to stop thinking about it so much and just give Joker a few days to come to terms with the change in their relationship, and though Bruce sees his point it’s hard for him to ignore the nagging feeling that something is wrong. Alfred suggests Bruce give it some time before he begins to paint worst case scenarios in his mind since it won’t do anybody any good quite so soon. Bruce agrees, mostly to keep Alfred happy, and he tries his best to stay positive. He keeps telling himself Joker just needs a little space to come to terms with everything, and when he does things will go back to normal.

It feels like a lie but he ignores it.

Two weeks go by without a single word from Joker. Bruce tries not to overthink it or take it the worst way possible, but he still grows more and more worried as the time passes. He’d understand a few days of silence, maybe a week, but this is getting ridiculous. Bruce has no idea what to do short of stopping by Joker’s place, and since he has no way of knowing what mood Joker would be in he’s not very keen on the idea of barging in there and possibly making things even worse if it’s just a case of Joker taking some time to himself.

Even Bruce can admit that bringing the fact that he’s Batman into their relationship has changed things, he never expected anything else. Joker may not have wanted Batman dead, but there’s always been abundance of violence between them. After everything Batman and Joker have done to each other adding that to any relationship isn’t easy. He has the benefit of having had the time to come to terms with it. Of course Joker, being Joker, had ignored it all even when he’d known the truth. Bruce figures that with that in mind he can understand why Joker needs time to deal with everything.

Bruce decides to give Joker a few more days.

 

* * *

 

Bruce gets distracted by a series of fires set around Gotham as time passes, and though Bruce’s initial thought is that Firefly must be back in town he finds none of his signatures on the scenes. There’s no telltale accelerate and when Bruce stops to think the places set on fire don’t really fit either. It seems to be just arson without any real reason behind it. Bruce would chalk it up to it just being Gotham, things like that tend to happen, but something doesn’t feel right. He says so to Tim, and after some consideration he agrees with Bruce, saying there must be a pattern to these fires even if they seem random at first glance. Two or three fires could be considered random, but when the numbers start pushing closer to ten there has to be something more to them.

Bruce is somewhat relieved by Tim confirming his theory, as it assures him he’s not just making things up in order to avoid the one glaring issue in his life, but they’re still left with no suspects and it bothers him more than he’d like to admit. He can’t tell why but something feels off about the case, like he’s missing something that’s right there in front of his eyes if he’d just look, but he can’t see it no matter how hard he tries. It keeps him awake at night.

Bruce sighs and forces his attention away from the computer screen when it refuses to give him the answers he needs. His phone burns in his pocket and he wants to call Joker to see how he’s doing, but he knows it wouldn’t do him any good. Joker has had his phone turned off ever since the last time they met, and the only thing Bruce accomplishes when he calls Joker is feeding his own misery.

He misses Joker more than he ever thought he would, and now that Joker knows the truth about Batman the distance hurts more than ever. He’d imagined they’d be happy. He’d imagined Joker would find it funny, at least once he calmed down, but it’s been too long with nothing and Bruce is getting anxious. He wants to hear Joker tell him they’re fine. Bruce wonders if he should call Jonny to ask him how Joker is doing, but he’s not quite that desperate yet.

“Perhaps a cup of tea might help? Or some sleep?” Alfred’s voice cuts through the air, snapping Bruce out of his thoughts. Bruce glances at him and tries to smile, mostly for Alfred’s sake, but it feels wrong so he stops. Alfred studies Bruce for a long moment before his face softens and he walks up to Bruce’s side and places a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“He’ll come back. There has never been anything that could keep you two separated for long,” he says and squeezes Bruce’s shoulder. This time Bruce manages a smile that doesn’t feel quite as painful, and though Alfred can tell it’s not completely real he doesn’t mention it.

“Now how about that tea?” Alfred steps away from Bruce as he speaks, and Bruce lets out a heavy breath and nods. There’s not really anything for him to do down in the cave anymore, and tea might be just what he needs.

Bruce follows Alfred after shutting down the programs that aren’t needed at that time. He has some time to pass before sundown, and he tells himself he needs to relax and find his center again. It’s easier said than done though, his world feels off balance and it’s all because of Joker. Somewhere on the line Bruce had  unintentionally allowed his world to be shaped into something Joker was an integral part of. Now Joker is gone and Bruce is adrift.

He hates it. He hates the power Joker has over him, and he hates the fact that he doesn’t mind it as much as he should. He should be angry, fight against Joker’s hold on him, but he can’t. Bruce just wants him back.

“How are we doing with the fires?” Tim asks when Bruce enters the kitchen, and the look on Bruce’s face tells him everything he needs to know. Tim focuses on his tea without another word while Alfred pours Bruce a cup.

“I’m sure you two will figure it out in no time,” Alfred says, trying to keep a positive atmosphere in the room, and though Bruce appreciates the effort his mood stays sour.

Bruce is at his second cup of tea and third pastry when the thought that the seeming randomness of the fires is something Joker would enjoy. He stops short of taking a bite of his pastry as the thought fills his head. He can’t believe he didn’t see it before, that he’d let his relationship with Joker blind him to what he was capable of.

“Fuck.” Bruce buries his face in his hands and curses himself for not seeing the truth sooner.

“What?” Tim asks, and Bruce doesn’t have to see his face to know he’s ready to spring to action if need be.

“Joker,” Bruce replies like it explains everything, and to him it does. Usually the answer to all of Bruce’s problems is Joker, whether or not it’s because he’s the cause of them or the thing to fix them is another question.

“What about him?” Tim sounds almost confused, like he’d expected something else.

Bruce pulls at his hair and grinds his teeth together. “He’s the one who’s been setting the fires,” he says, and the silence that follows is almost worse than his realization.

“He’s angry at me and he’s taking it out on the city. It’ll get a lot worse unless we find him,” Bruce says when no one else seems interested in talking. He risks a glance at Tim and Alfred, and though their expressions are serious they don’t seem to blame Bruce for the situation just yet.

“So let’s go find your boyfriend,” Tim says before downing the last of his tea and standing up. “I’ll get in touch with Dick and Barbara. They might be willing to help.”

Bruce thanks Tim and watches him walk away before turning to Alfred with a defeated sigh. “This is my fault,” Bruce says, his voice quiet. Alfred shakes his head and reaches over the table to rest his hand on Bruce’s. It’s comforting and though Bruce doesn’t think he deserves it at that moment he stays still.

“No, it isn’t. Just because you two had a fight doesn’t make his actions your fault. The responsibility is on him alone. You’ll find him and smack some sense into him, and perhaps teach him how to deal with his emotions like a sensible grown up,” Alfred says in that almost parental voice Bruce has always taken comfort in, and squeezes Bruce’s hand lightly.

“I can’t really imagine him dealing with anything like a sensible grown up,” Bruce jokes, though his voice doesn’t carry much amusement. Alfred still smiles, and it makes Bruce feel a little better.

Bruce finishes his tea before getting up and heading to his room, figuring he might torture himself by trying to call Joker one more time before he can put his batsuit on and go find him the old fashioned way. His call goes straight to voicemail like he knew it would, but rather than let it be and go help Tim Bruce decides he might as well be a little desperate for a change. He pulls up Jonny’s number and hits the call button, and listens to the dial tone with baited breath. To his surprise Jonny picks up.

“Is he there?” Jonny’s voice comes through the line before Bruce even has a chance to say hello, and the flicker of hope Bruce had just a second ago dies.

“No. I was hoping you’d know where he is,” Bruce replies and sighs despite himself.

“Well, let me know if you hear from him. I’ve got a homicidal dog here and I’d like to get rid of it as soon as possible,” Jonny says, sounding more tired than Bruce has ever heard. He makes a quick decision he knows he’ll regret, and he hopes Alfred will understand it.

“Bring the dog here,” he says, and Jonny agrees immediately. He hangs up after a hasty goodbye, and Bruce pockets his phone as he leaves to tell Alfred they’re about to have an unusual house guest.

To Bruce’s surprise neither Alfred or Tim mind Pumpkin coming over, and though Bruce still thinks the dog is possessed by a demon he’s happy to have something of Joker in the manor. Jonny drops the dog off, and as always Pumpkin growls at Bruce, but she follows Alfred around without a fuss. Alfred says it’s because she remembers him. Even Tim gets a curious sniff out of the dog.

“Why does she hate you?” Tim asks, and Bruce can only shrug in reply.

Bruce leaves Tim to deal with Dick and Barbara and heads out on patrol alone. The night yields no signs of Joker, but at least Bruce now has an idea of what he’s dealing with. Tim heads straight to bed after the patrol while Bruce makes a quick stop to the kitchen to get something to eat.

The halls are quiet when Bruce heads to his room with a hastily made cheese sandwich in one hand and a glass of apple juice in another. Alfred wouldn’t be happy to know he’s wandering around the manor with food, but Bruce is miserable after the fruitless night out and he wants to go to sleep as soon as he can.

The door to his bedroom is slightly cracked, and it sets Bruce on high alert. He sneaks through the door, setting his sandwich and juice down before tiptoeing to the open closet door. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and as he readies to open the door and surprise whoever is in there he pretends he doesn’t hope it’s Joker.

Bruce shoves the door open and flips the lights on, only to come face to face with Pumpkin making a nest in his expensive clothes. Pumpkin growls at him, settling on top of Bruce’s shirts. Bruce wants to kick the dog out of his room, but he hesitates for a second too long and his resolve crumbles. Bruce sighs and leaves the dog alone, and returns to his sandwich and glass of juice.

Bruce manages to get through half a sandwich before he gets up and goes back into the closet. Pumpkin flattens her ears, but the smell of the sandwich keeps her from growling. Bruce drops to sit near her, and rips a piece of the bread for her to eat.

“I miss him too,” Bruce sighs. Pumpkin huffs and steals the cheese off of his sandwich.

 

* * *

 

Bruce and Pumpkin develop a system where they avoid each other during the day, and Bruce allows Pumpkin to sleep in his room during the night. It works for them, and to Bruce’s relief Alfred never mentions the dog being in his room every morning. Pumpkin still doesn’t seem to like Bruce, but Bruce likes to think they’ve sort of bonded over Joker going missing.

A week after Pumpkin joins the household Bruce is about to head to the batcave to continue his search for Joker when Barbara calls him. Bruce is so taken aback by seeing her name flashing on her phone screen he almost forgets to answer her.

“I might have something on Joker,” Barbara says as a way of greeting. Her voice is tense and Bruce doesn’t blame her for it. He can’t imagine how hard it is for her to help him with this.

“Dick has been scouting the Bowery and he overheard some people talking about seeing someone they thought looked like Joker near Dixon Docks yesterday. It’s not a solid lead but it’s something,” Barbara tells Bruce, who has to sit down as he takes in the news.

They’ve gone for weeks without any word of Joker, and Bruce isn’t sure if he should laugh or cry. Pumpkin walks by the study Bruce had holed up in, and Bruce gets a sudden urge to tell the dog they might find Joker soon.

“I’ll get on it,” Bruce promises Barbara, “and thank you,” he adds before hanging up. He has a goal for his patrol now, and he’s ready to go as soon as the sun sets.

Bruce tells Tim about the call since they have an agreement to share everything on the case, and he asks Alfred to get him a cup of his strongest coffee before he heads out. Alfred delivers as Bruce knew he would, and Tim lets Bruce know he just got off the phone with Dick who would be getting some rest at the penthouse and joining them for patrol later.

Bruce doesn’t complain, he could use all the help he can get.

By nightfall Bruce is close to trembling from anxiousness. He knows he’s going to find Joker, but he has no idea what he should say or do to get Joker to come back home with him. All Bruce knows that he’ll have to face Joker alone, so even though he’s more than happy to have Tim and Dick there to help him he’ll have to talk about that with them before they find Joker.

As Bruce expected the talk doesn’t go as smoothly as he’d like. Tim grudgingly agrees, but only after Dick forces Bruce to allow them to stick close by in case something goes wrong. Bruce doesn’t like it but he takes what he can get.

“And besides,” Dick starts, “we might not even find the clown.” Bruce gives him the most unimpressed look he can in response.

The three of them get to the streets as soon as they can, and Bruce tries not to think how Joker will react to seeing him in the batsuit. He doubts it will go well, but a small part of him hopes Joker has calmed down enough to have a conversation. There’s also a part of Bruce that’s excited at facing Joker now that he knows the truth. The rules will have changed, but Bruce doesn’t know how. All he knows it will be new.

Bruce sends Tim and Dick off to scout the nearby areas while he takes the docs.

There’s nothing to be found, not even a fiber for Bruce to examine, but he hadn’t really expected anything else. Joker is like a ghost, seemingly appearing and disappearing at will, never leaving behind anything he doesn’t want to leave. It’s always infuriated Bruce.

“You got anything?” Dick’s voice comes through the comms.

“No,” Bruce admits reluctantly. “There’s an empty factory a few blocks away. I’ll check it next.”

“Okay. We’ll check in with the police and check if there’s anything burnable near here,” Dick says, and Bruce thanks him before cutting the communication and heading towards his new destination.

The factory isn’t abandoned, so the small building is in relatively good shape, but it is indefinitely closed down for maintenance. There is no security besides the cameras that probably don’t even work, and the unfortunate security guards who stop by every now and then to make sure no serious vandalism has been committed on the premises.

Bruce doesn’t see anyone as he enters the factory, but he keeps his ears and eyes open, sticking to the shadows and observing the dusty ground for tracks. He doesn’t spot anything that interests him, but rather than leave the factory he searches through every floor of it.

He finds nothing at first, but when he reaches the back of the factory he sees a lone set of familiar footprints leading out of a back door. Bruce has never mentioned it to Joker, but his tendency to wear expensive dress shoes makes his footprints easy to spot. He’s beginning to wonder if he should tell Joker about it. Keeping secrets from him hasn’t gone well for him recently.

Bruce follows the footprints to the heavy door leading out of the building, and though he can’t pick the trail up once he’s outside a survey of the area and his knowledge of Joker give him the best possible start for his search. Bruce grapnels up to a roof, hiding in the shadows as he surveys the surroundings before hurrying to the old building opposite of the factory, noting the closed store at the corner of it.

Bruce doesn’t find any sign of Joker, and he’s forced to admit the trail he’d followed withered out again. He walks back out with heavy steps, trying not to let his disappointment cloud his judgement of the situation. The wind catches on his cape, and though Bruce knows his armor isn’t letting the wind through he still feels cold. He resists the urge to wrap his cape around himself, though he can’t stop himself from thinking how amusing Joker would find it.

The crash coming from behind him catches Bruce’s attention, and he watches a cat scurry out of the darkness of a cramped alley, half expecting to see something chasing it. The cat disappears around a corner as Bruce takes a cautious step towards the shadows creeping around the buildings, letting the darkness surround and hide him. Something scared the cat and Bruce wants to know what it was.

The smell of death hanging heavy in the air in the alley Bruce steps in almost makes him gag. He finds the source of the smell easily. The dead body lying on the ground in the back of the alley, hidden from the passerby’s behind an old dumpster. Bruce grits his teeth as he takes in the slashed throat and the confused look permanently glued to the man’s face, and kneels in the grime and dirt to get a better look at the body that’s probably been there since morning.

At first glance Bruce thinks it’s a random mugging, but the wallet is still in the dead man’s pocket and his expensive watch is intact. The only thing that seems to be missing is a card of some type, if the empty badge holder around the man’s neck is any indication.

Bruce checks the man’s wallet for an ID, and to his luck he finds one. He opens a line to Alfred and asks him to run the name on the card, and asks him to inform the police of the body.

“Do you believe this is connected to Joker?” Alfred asks, his voice cautious, like he doesn’t want to give Bruce false hope.

“Depends on who this Reed was,” Bruce answers. He tries not to think of Joker or how much he wants the body to be nothing too important so that he can ignore it and focus on what matters to him.

A headache begins to build behind Bruce’s eyes and the cowl doesn’t help with it. He’d take it off and rub his temples if he could, but he doesn’t dare to unmask in such an open place.

“He worked at Ace Chemicals,” Alfred informs Bruce, and it’s all he needs to hear to know his next destination. Bruce thanks Alfred and asks him to let Tim and Dick know where he’s going before disconnecting the line and heading to the all too familiar location.

Ace Chemicals isn’t significant in itself, but with the knowledge that Joker had been at the scene and his connection to the place Bruce can’t help but dread and hope it will be Joker’s next stop. In a strange way it’s sacred ground for them, it’s where they first met and where Joker became Joker. They’ve avoided the place until now, and Bruce can’t imagine he’d be returning there for any good reason.

Bruce reaches his destination faster than he anticipated, and he scans his surroundings frantically from his high ground, hoping for any sign of Joker. He doesn’t see anything, and for a moment he suspects he might have been wrong about everything before he gives himself a mental shakedown and tells himself to trust his instincts. He knows Joker, all he needs to do is trust himself.

With that in mind Bruce lands quietly in the shadows surrounding the far side of Ace Chemicals, figuring he might as well take a closer look at the surroundings. He doubts he’ll find anything, but it gives him something to do and this way he can’t tell himself he missed something or didn’t do enough when he lies in bed waiting for sleep to claim him.

Bruce opens up a line to Alfred, not wanting to bother Barbara while she’s still upset with him. “Can you check the camera feed inside?”

“Just a moment,” Alfred replies, and Bruce waits patiently while he goes through the feed to see if anything suspicious is going on. A dark spot on the ground catches Bruce’s attention, and he thinks it might be blood, but on further inspection it’s just a stain the darkness makes into something it’s not.

“There seems to be some minor technical difficulties with the feed. It could be nothing,” Alfred informs Bruce, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Let Tim and Dick know about it. I could use their help,” Bruce says before cutting the communication. He could head in without waiting for backup, but in the light of all the troubles he’s gone through with his family he decides to wait for once.

The air feels colder than before as Bruce retreats to a more secluded spot to wait for his backup to arrive. Bruce ignores it, figuring it’s just his mind playing tricks with him, and he briefly hopes Tim and Dick won’t take too long to get there. He almost scoffs at the idea, but he tells himself the faster they get there the faster Bruce can get back to searching for Joker.

Dick calls out to Bruce to let him know he’s not alone anymore. “Heard you needed help,” he says as he lands next to Bruce with Tim only seconds behind him.

“Something is going on in there.” Bruce turns to face the looming building before them, thinking about their task for a second before continuing, “you’re going to scout the building as discreetly as possible. I’ll check the outside again before joining you. There are people in there so be careful.”

Dick nods while Tim crosses his arms and regards the factory with a thoughtful look on his face.

“I’ll go check the security feeds. If there’s something wrong with them like Alfred says I should be able to figure out what it is,” Tim says, and neither Dick or Bruce argue with him.

They go their own ways, everyone knowing what they need to do.

Bruce makes his way around the factory. He stays in the shadows and keeps an eye out for anything that could be considered unusual but he doesn’t see anything, no matter how closely he looks. He tries to come up with the best course of action. He knows he should join Tim and Dick inside, but in the end he decides to scout the one blind spot in the otherwise good Ace Chemicals security.

It’s not something a lot of people know about, but if one was to approach the factory from the east side, intending to go through the old emergency exit that was supposed to be walled off years ago, they could avoid the cameras outside. It’s a weakness that could be easily fixed, but it has also helped Bruce from time to time so he doesn’t push it as hard as he probably should.

Bruce doesn’t see anything in the dark area not covered by cameras, but he still grapnels to a higher ground and scans the area carefully, not leaving anything to chance. A few minutes into his watch Tim lets him know someone has definitely tampered with the security feed, but it seems like it was done in order to hack the system at some point, not to cause any damage to the actual ongoing feed. Dick hasn’t found anything on his search through the facility, but he reminds Bruce that he isn’t even halfway through yet.

“Keep it up. Let me know if you need help,” Bruce says, focusing his attention to the particularly suspicious looking group of shadows in a far corner.

“You’re not coming in?” Dick asks, sounding surprised.

“I might have something,” Bruce replies, hoping he’s not making a liar out of himself by imagining things that aren’t there. “I’ll check it out before joining you.”

Bruce disconnects the communication before making his way to the shadowy spot, making sure no one can see him as he goes. He reaches his destination but sees nothing out of the ordinary, unless he counts the lone cat carrying a slice of beef across the road. Bruce wonders if the cat had stolen it straight from someone’s meal or if it had been discarded somewhere. He’s not sure which would be the better option.

Bruce watches the cat disappear. He’s beginning to doubt they will find anything but stray animals that night. He doubts he’ll ever find Joker unless Joker wants to be found. Bruce sighs, and if he wasn’t wearing his cowl he’d rub his temples to ease the beginning headache. He should just go home and accept his losses. Bruce tries to decide if he should call Tim and Dick back, though the matter of the hacked security feed still concerns him.

The sudden pain in Bruce’s shoulder snaps him out of his thoughts. He darts around the corner crouches on the ground before reaching for his shoulder. He feels around the bit of metal stuck between the plates of his armor. If it wasn’t for the armor he has no doubt that the metal would have dug far deeper into his body. Bruce eases the metal out, and once he gets a good look at it he frowns. It’s a beautifully crafted throwing knife, but Bruce has never seen one like it before so he can’t tell who it belongs to.

Bruce peeks around the corner, expecting to see his assailant approaching, but he can see no one. Bruce frowns as he tests his shoulder to see how much damage he took, and to his relief his shoulder moves fine even if it hurts. He can work with it.

Slowly, making sure he makes no sound, Bruce stands up while , keeping a close eye on his surroundings, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. He takes a few cautious steps to the side, almost getting out of the protective darkness in the process. He sees nothing, and risks another step out of the shadows.

He almost misses the baseball bat aimed at his face.

Bruce dodges and grabs the end of the bat, drawing his free arm back as he readies to punch the lights out of whoever attacked him. Bruce freezes when he comes face to face with Joker, and all fight leaves his body as he takes in Joker’s angry expression.

“Stop following me,” Joker orders and tries to yank the bat free from Bruce’s grip. Bruce lets go of it, though a part of him screams it’s a bad idea and he’ll regret it soon.

“Start answering your phone then,” Bruce retorts before thinking better of it. Joker laughs, the sharp sound of it sending chills down Bruce’s spine. He’s too busy studying Joker’s appearance to care. He takes in the almost perfect make up, the slightly disheveled state of his clothes and the way his hair looks like he’s ran his hands through it one too many times.

“I don’t wanna talk to you.” Joker turns away from Bruce, seeming more at ease now that they aren’t facing each other, and Bruce tries not to take it personally. Obviously Joker is still angry at him and Bruce knows him getting annoyed will only lead to harm.

Bruce bites his lip and tries not to shuffle his feet. “Pumpkin is at the manor,” he offers when the silence stretches and starts to become uncomfortable.

Joker shrugs. Bruce hopes it’s not because he’s grown tired of the dog already.

“Jonny worries about you,” Bruce tries, but only gets another shrug as a reply. He’s not sure what to do with Joker. He’s not used to being the one to carry a conversation with them, usually he has trouble shutting Joker up. Bruce has never seen this quiet anger before, and he has no idea what to do. The cape feels too heavy on his shoulders and Bruce wishes he wasn’t wearing the batsuit.

Bruce hesitates, unsure if he should approach Joker or let him have his distance. He’d probably stay put if he hadn’t missed Joker as much as he had. He takes a step closer to Joker, trying to keep his breathing calm. He gets close enough to touch Joker if he’d just reach out, but he doesn’t dare to do so just yet. Joker doesn’t pay attention to Bruce, though Bruce knows Joker is fully aware of their closeness.

“I worried about you,” Bruce admits quietly. Joker tenses, but he doesn’t move, and it gives Bruce the courage to reach out to tentatively touch his wrist.

It’s a mistake. Joker spins around, swinging his bat at Bruce’s head again. This time he lands his hit. Bruce stumbles back, his vision blurring for a second as he bites back a curse, hoping Joker won’t go for a second attack while he’s dizzy. He’s not surprised when the bat hits his side.

“You don’t get to worry about me.” Joker swings the bat at Bruce’s head again, and this time Bruce blocks the strike. His head spins and he can’t grab the bat from Joker, but he manages to stumble a few steps back to a safer distance.

“Calm down,” Bruce says even though he knows it’s pointless. Joker snarls and lunges at Bruce.

Bruce blocks the bat aimed at his head and dodges the second hit. He gets a hold of the bat on the next swing and refuses to let go. He doesn’t want to get into a fight. He doesn’t want to hurt Joker, not when he knows his anger is more or less justified. Bruce blames his dizziness for not reacting fast enough when Joker lets go of the bat and moves to drive a blade between the plates of Bruce’s armor.

Bruce drops the bat as he grabs Joker’s wrist to keep him from twisting the knife in his gut. “Calm down,” he says again, his voice more stern this time, but Joker doesn’t listen to him. If anything he seems to get more upset with Bruce.

“You ruined everything,” Joker grits through his teeth. Bruce doesn’t argue with him.

Bruce forgets how fast Joker is, he forgets how many knives he always carries with him. Joker buries another knife into Bruce’s gut and twists it before darting back to keep Bruce from grabbing his free hand, pulling himself free from Bruce’s hold. Bruce lets Joker go even though he knows it’s a bad idea. He shouldn’t have tracked Joker as Batman. He should’ve known Joker would get violent with Batman.

Bruce ignores the pain in his head and the bleeding wounds in his gut as he takes a step back, making sure he doesn’t seem defensive or attacking as he focuses on Joker again. “I’m sorry,” he says, knowing it’s not enough but unsure of what else he can say.

“You’re sorry,” Joker repeats with a dry laugh. He rolls his eyes as he steps to the bat lying on the ground, nudging it with his foot, and for a moment Bruce hopes they’re done fighting.

Joker laughs, but it’s not the laugh Bruce has come to cherish. It’s cold and mean and it makes Bruce’s blood run cold. “You’re sorry.” Joker grins and shakes his head. Bruce thinks he should run away.

Bruce weighs his options, trying to decide if he should back off or try to get through to Joker. He knows if he leaves Joker alone he might not find him again for a long time, and he knows Joker will hurt someone if Bruce were to leave him when he’s upset. Bruce also knows he’ll most likely get hurt if he tries to talk Joker down.

Bruce doesn’t reach a definite decision before Joker throws the knife he’s still holding at Bruce. Bruce dodges, but the knife still grazes his arm. His head hurts and he thinks he might have a concussion. Joker is on him before Bruce can fully realize what is happening.

Joker breaks Bruce’s nose before Bruce can block his strike. Bruce blocks the next blow and stops Joker from getting another weapon from his pockets. Joker kicks his knee, sending Bruce off balance for a second.

Bruce isn’t sure if he forgot how well Joker knows his weak spots because of the blow to his head, or if it’s making him slower than usual. He’s not sure Joker has ever gone for his weaknesses so intently. Joker punches his face again and Bruce has to aim a hard punch to Joker’s gut to get him to back off.

Bruce tries to orient himself. He doesn’t want to fight, he doesn’t want to fuel the violence, he doesn’t want to hurt Joker. “Stop hitting me.” Bruce focuses his eyes on Joker just in time to see him pick up the bat.

“Hit you? I’m gonna kill you,” Joker growls in reply, and for the first time in years Bruce believes him.

“You know what I figured?” Joker starts and smiles sweetly at Bruce. “Everything that’s ever gone wrong in my life is your fault. You threw me into that vat of chemicals, you keep locking me up or putting me in a hospital. I bet every problem I had before you showed up was your fault too. And you hate my dog!”

“I don’t hate your dog,” Bruce cuts in.

“Yes you do,” Joker insists. “I was nice to you. I took you on a date. I even saved your life! I never save anyone’s life.” Joker seems lost in thought for just a second before anger marrs his face again.

“I dunno if you’ve got some chronic aversion to basic mediocre happiness or if you’re just secretly more sadistic than I thought and you wanted to screw with me but I’ve never done anything to deserve this shit.” Joker throws his arms in the air, his expression shifting between furious and manic.

Bruce opens his mouth, but he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t have a frame of reference for this situation and he doesn’t want to make it worse. All he knows is that telling Joker he’s sorry one more time isn’t going to erase the hurt in his eyes. He knows Joker is going to deliver a painful blow to his side the second he starts, but Bruce doesn’t move out of the way. The strike lands on his left side, cracking Bruce’s ribs and sending him stumbling a few steps to the side. Bruce protects his head from the next blow, but doesn’t quite manage to dodge the kick aimed at his knee.

The strike knocks Bruce off balance and he falls to the ground, half from his loss of footing half from the pain shooting through his leg. He wouldn’t be surprised if Joker just kicked his kneecap out of its socket. Joker swings the bat above Bruce’s head, barely missing him.

Bruce needs to get the bat away from Joker. He needs Joker to know Bruce never meant to hurt him. Bruce works past the dizziness in his head and grabs the bat as Joker swings it at him, stopping it inches from his face and twisting it so that Joker has no other choice than let go. Bruce throws the bat away and tries to reach for Joker before he can get out of his reach.

“Just stop for a second and let me talk.” Bruce gets off of his injured leg and moves to push himself back up, but one look of Joker’s face keeps him on the ground.

“You think I’m gonna let an oversized rodent furry with a child hoarding issue fuck with me?” Joker spits back, taking a fast step closer to Bruce. “You think you can make fun of me?”

The silence stretches between them until the rage marring Joker’s features overshadows the hurt in his eyes. Bruce can’t make himself talk. He knows he has to say something but he can’t make a sound. He can’t get over the hurt he can see Joker trying to hide. He hates himself for making that happen.

Joker pulls out a gun and shoots at Bruce without a warning, and the bullet goes through his good leg. Bruce raises his arms to cover his face and turns away as Joker fires the gun again, knowing he can’t get away with his injuries. The bullets go through Bruce, hitting the weak spots in Bruce’s armor with terrifying precision.

It leaves Bruce biting back a scream, bleeding, and worried he might actually die from blood loss. He’d always known Joker hadn’t been trying to kill him. He’d always, on some level, trusted Joker not to truly harm him, but when the gun clicks and instead of throwing the gun away or reloading it Joker strikes Bruce’s head with it. Joker lands a second hit on the side of Bruce’s face before Bruce can grab the gun and tear it away from Joker.

“Wait,” Bruce starts. Joker kicks him in his chest, sending him sprawling on the ground.

“I’m sorry, you’ve lost your right to talk to me ever again.” Joker kicks Bruce’s leg as he tries to pull himself up again. “Everything would’ve been fine if you didn’t exist.”

The world spins as Bruce pushes himself off the ground. He won’t survive this. He should’ve disarmed Joker the second he showed up and force him to listen. He needs Joker to listen. Bruce closes his eyes and tries not to throw up as a wave of nausea washes over him.

The sound of Joker’s revolver gets Bruce to force himself to get back to the moment. He’s too aware of the blood sweeping through his armor, of the throbbing behind his eyes that keeps him from fully focusing on the world around him.

Bruce turns towards Joker, refusing to go down without a fight, but a sudden idea hits him. It’s stupid and reckless, and maybe it’s the concussion and pain and blood loss messing with Bruce’s mind, but he tears off his cowl before facing Joker. Bruce doesn’t try to take the revolver from Joker. Instead he leans forward just enough to gently grasp Joker’s wrist, and forces his eyes to focus on Joker’s shocked face.

He feels like he’s floating.

Bruce repeats meaningless words to Joker, his voice so quiet Bruce can barely hear himself, and hopes it keeps Joker calm until Bruce can wrap his mind around the words he needs to say. His vision blurs and he knows he doesn’t have a long before he’ll pass out or die.

Joker’s hand trembles and Bruce rubs soothing circles against the fabric of his coat.

“I hate you.” Joker’s voice breaks just a little, and it’s enough to get Bruce to fully focus on Joker’s expression, ignoring the revolver pointed at his face.

Bruce wonders if Joker’s eyes were always as green as they are in the dark of the night, or if it was something that happened after his dive into the chemicals. He tries to remember if he ever told Joker he thinks he likes the color. It might even be his favorite. He focuses on the unique green of Joker’s eyes, memorizing it in case he’ll never see it again.

Bruce smiles. His vision blurs again. He takes a breath and wills himself to form the words he wants to say. His body feels heavy and light and there’s nothing but Joker grounding him to reality as he starts to slip from consciousness.

“I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say except you’re welcome ~
> 
> Did I mention I’m gonna have to rewrite most of the next chapter because I lost the memory stick the chapter was on? It’s gonna take me a while since I’m studying for my next round of exams at the same time plus work. And assuming my wrist doesn’t get busted again so.. Might take a little more than a few weeks.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. This is it. The End.
> 
> Honestly the only reason it took me so long to post this chapter is that I purposefully avoided editing this so that I could still pretend to be working on this.

Everything is soft and warm, and even the faint clinical smell doesn’t ruin the feel of floating. Someone is talking, but the sound of their voice is distant, more of an afterthought than anything. A light tries to penetrate the comforting darkness, but thankfully it fails. A huff of sharp laughter pierces the veil of cotton surrounding everything.

_Joker._

Bruce forces his eyes to open.

He’s lying in a hospital bed. Bruce isn’t sure why, he was just talking to Joker.

Bruce blinks at the room, trying to remember what happened, but his brain is sluggish and he can’t keep his thoughts in order. He thinks he frowns. The last thing he somewhat remembers is Joker’s angry face staring at him, and the baseball bat in his hands. Bruce thinks he might have been hit with it, but he can’t be sure.

_Were we fighting?_

“He tried to kill you,” Dick’s voice comes from somewhere out of Bruce’s field of vision. Bruce tries to turn his head to look at him, but his muscles are too stiff and the movement sends shooting pain through his spine.

“We didn’t know he was there until he shot at Tim. He didn’t hit him though, so don’t worry about him. We found you outside but he was gone by then,” Dick continues. Bruce swallows, his throat painful from the dryness. As much as he wants to he can’t offer Dick any answers. He can’t even remember what happened.

A straw touches Bruce’s lips and forces him to focus on the moment. Dick’s concerned face swims into his field of vision as he accepts the offered drink, glad to be rid of the dryness and sour taste in his mouth.

“You’ve been out for a few days. Your knee was dislocated and the doctors were worried about the blood loss and the internal damage but they fixed everything. You had a pretty bad concussion too, some cracked ribs, a micro fracture on your skull...” Dick bites his lip and looks away.

“Sorry,” Bruce manages to say. He isn’t sure what he’s apologizing for, but he knows he has to apologize for something, the guilt gnawing at his gut tells him as much.

Dick waves his hand as he looks anywhere but Bruce. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

Bruce can’t say if Dick is right so he keeps quiet, but a small part of him can’t agree with him. Dick gets up when the silence gets too heavy and mumbles something about finding a doctor before disappearing.

Bruce lets the fuzziness in his head cloud his understanding of the passing time, relishing in the chemical calmness filling his mind. He’s aware of Dick returning with a doctor, and he hears himself answer the few questions presented to him, but Bruce feels too far away from himself to pay attention to reality.

The doctor leaves after exchanging a few quiet words with Dick. Bruce closes his eyes and lets himself drift to sleep.

Tim and Alfred are there when Bruce wakes up. Bruce feels a bit better by then, and he manages to have a small conversation with them before the sedatives he’s being pumped full of catch up to him. Bruce doesn’t like the concerned frown on Alfred’s face, and if Bruce had the energy he’d assure him he’s fine.

The next time Bruce is fully aware of his surroundings he’s alone with Tim. Bruce offers him a small, brief smile only to get a frown in return. Bruce’s brow knits together in confusion.

“Did you actively try to kill yourself or was that just an afterthought?” Tim asks, his voice laced with concern and bitterness. Bruce frowns, unsure of what he means. He tries to remember what happened, only to have his brain buzz with white noise. Some of his uncertainty must show on his face since Tim sighs as his expression softens slightly.

“You just let him shoot you,” Tim says quietly and looks away. “He could’ve killed you.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Bruce replies, his voice confident in his belief he’s right. Bruce thinks him being alive is all the proof he needs for that, but going by Tim’s expression he’s not right.

“You almost died,” Tim insists. Bruce doesn’t know what to say to ease his mind.

“I don’t remember what happened,” he admits, and if his mind wasn’t so fuzzy from the drugs he might feel frustrated at the situation. As it is he just feels hollow.

“I’m not surprised. You took a few pretty bad hits to your head,” Tim says before sighing  and slumping in his chair, and Bruce has to turn his head to fully see him. He can’t tell Tim everything is fine, not when he can’t be sure if it’s a lie or not. He wishes he knew what happened between him and Joker.

Eventually Tim has to leave. Bruce doesn’t mind the calm and quiet that it brings him, it lets him rest without feeling like he should be awake for Tim’s sake. It also leaves Bruce alone to try remember what happened at Ace Chemicals. He frowns. He barely remembers Joker being there.

The nurses come to take Bruce to be tested. He’s not really listening to what they are saying, but he gets that they want to scan his brain again. Bruce doesn’t say anything until the doctors ask him if he’s alright. Bruce tells them about the memory loss, and the doctors inform him it’s completely normal after a traumatic experience. They say something about a shootout but Bruce isn’t listening. What ever his family has told them isn’t the truth so they can’t tell him anything worthwhile.

Bruce gets to go home after the doctors are satisfied that his head is fine. Bruce can’t walk with his injured knee, and his whole body is in pain, but at least he gets to crawl into his own bed. It’s definitely preferable to the one in the hospital. He still doesn’t remember what happened with Joker, but he’s got a vague impression that he had done something stupid.

His body agrees with that impression.

Alfred tells him his memories will return in time, and that he shouldn’t force it. Bruce isn’t sure if he agrees with him, but he doesn’t feel ready to remember what had happened so for now he decides to do as Alfred says.

Jonny picked Pumpkin up before Bruce could say goodbye to her, and a part of Bruce is grateful for it. It’s the part of him is happy to have his room all to himself again. A smaller part of him would have liked to see the little monster one more time.

Still, Bruce lies awake in bed until midnight, wondering what he did wrong with Joker.

Bruce rolls to his side, careful not to irritate his injuries, and grabs his phone from the nightstand. It’s stupid and most likely pointless, but Bruce sends Joker a text telling him he’s home. Bruce doubts it will do any good besides make him feel a little better for having done something to let Joker know a line of communication is still open. He doesn’t get a reply, and he wasn’t really expecting one.

He leaves Joker alone after that. He doesn’t want a repeat of what ever put him in the hospital. If Joker wants them to be done then Bruce isn’t going to be the kind of a person who refuses to respect his choices. It doesn’t make him feel better, but he sticks to his decision, and as time passes he makes his peace with the situation.

Bruce doesn’t pretend he doesn’t miss Joker. He doesn’t pretend there isn’t an empty spot in him that he can’t figure out how to fill. He never thought he might have to live without Joker, as Bruce Wayne and possibly even as Batman. They’ve been apart, sometimes for months, but a sense finality has fallen over Bruce and he’s starting to realize he might have to learn to live without the one constant he’s always had. Joker had always been there to counter Bruce, and he’s not sure how he’ll adapt to not having Joker there.

Maybe he’ll heal and go on patrol and Gotham will remain unchanged. It doesn’t seem right, but Bruce might have to do what Alfred once told him and just keep moving forward, no matter how hard it seems. He will go on like he always does.

With his mind made up, Bruce heads down to the kitchen to have lunch with Alfred and Tim. The crutches he has to use feel foreign, but he fixes a smile on his face and greets Tim and Alfred as he enters the kitchen.

Everything will be fine.

 

* * *

 

 

_you’re stupid_

Bruce stares at the words and Joker’s name on his phone screen, not quite believing they’re there. A tentative smile tugs at his lips as he relaxes into the comfy armchair and starts writing a reply. He’s alone in his study so no one is there to tell him not to get his hopes up. He knows not to do that on his own, but the message is something and it makes him happy.

_If you say so._

Bruce puts his phone down and picks up the book he’d been reading when the text had arrived. He doesn’t get a reply, and soon the Sun goes down and Tim leaves to check on some shady activity he and Dick have been keeping an eye on. Bruce assures Alfred he’ll be fine on his own, so if Alfred wants to help the duo he can do so.

“I’m not completely incapable of surviving on my own, in my own home for one night,” Bruce jokes. “And I can always call you if I need you.”

Alfred is a bit reluctant to leave Bruce, but Barbara is spending the night with his father for a change and Tim and Dick might need some kind of technical support. In the end he agrees to leave Bruce to his own devices. Bruce knows Alfred’s reluctance to leave wasn’t only because he’s worried Bruce won’t call for help if he needs it, but because Bruce hasn’t been down in the cave for quite some time, and it’s making Alfred concerned.

Bruce goes back to reading his book. He promised the others he’d take things easy until he heals enough to at least walk on his own, and though Bruce would like to go down to the cave he sticks to his promise and keeps away. At least it’s giving his skull enough time to heal before he goes and gets it smashed in again. Besides, the books hold Bruce’s interest well enough for him to not mind being in the side lines as much as it otherwise might, and he’s been meaning to read them anyways.

His phone beeps after midnight, and Bruce’s heart jumps into his throat as he hurries to set his book down and reach for the phone. He lets out a breath when he sees Joker’s name on the screen. He hesitates for half a second before opening the message.

_I’m still mad at you_

Bruce considers his options. He doesn’t know how their previous encounter went, so he doesn’t know if things are any better between them, but on the other hand they’re having a conversation of sorts, even if it’s not exactly what he considers ideal.

_I can’t remember if I apologized._

Bruce isn’t sure if admitting he has amnesia is the best course of action, but at least this way they’ll avoid any misunderstandings. Joker doesn’t reply to him in quite a while, but when he does Bruce has gone back to reading his book. He hurries to grab the phone and almost knocks his tea cup over in the process.

_you did. i didn’t like it_

Bruce tilts his head, unsure of what to make of it. Bruce knows it’s a risk, but he needs to know something about what had happened between them. He knows Joker might not be the most reliable source of information, but since he is the only one who knows what happened Bruce can’t get picky on who to ask.

_Is that why you hit me?_

Bruce keeps the phone close as he picks his book up again, knowing there’s no point in waiting for an immediate reply by now. He stares at the page without seeing it, the words on it melting into a mess of black and white that makes no sense. He barely gets through a page before his phone beeps.

_one of the reasons_

It doesn’t explain much, but at least Bruce has some small knowledge of their confrontation now. Bruce jumps a little when his phone beeps again.

_it was a new bat so I didn’t know how hard I could hit with it and you deserved it_

Bruce huffs. He knows even without remembering that Joker knows exactly how hard he can hit with any bat. He’s not sure if he should accept the hint of apology in the text or expect a real one, but in the end he decides to ignore it for now, even if it annoys him a little.

_Did I deserve to get shot too?_

Bruce almost regrets hitting send. He doesn’t get a reply, and he didn’t expect one. He wonders if he should make sure he hasn’t upset Joker further, but the last time he chased Joker down he almost died, so he leaves him alone.

Bruce gets through a few more chapters of his book before calling it a day and heading to bed. Joker hadn’t sent him anything in reply, and Bruce hadn’t really expected him to. Bruce lets Alfred know he’s heading for bed, and asks for a quick update on the situation before he does so. Alfred tells him Tim and Dick are closing in on a gang of drug dealers, and they expect it to go smoothly. Bruce indulges himself in a small, proud smile as he heads to his room.

There’s no message waiting for Bruce when he wakes up in the morning, or in the days that follow. Bruce does his best not to take it personally or worry about it.

Eventually he gets well enough to go out on patrol with Tim, and though he doesn’t actively search Joker anymore he keeps an eye out for a sign of him, only to come up empty. Bruce might have spent his free time listening to the rumors going around, but the look on Tim’s face keeps him from anything Joker related that isn’t directly tied to the cases they work on.

It takes Joker almost two weeks to send Bruce a picture of Pumpkin destroying one of the many shirts Joker had stolen from him. It feels like a message of some sort, but Bruce isn’t sure how he’s supposed to take it.

_Do you want a new one?_

Bruce feels silly asking, but he still hits send.

He ignores his phone for the rest of the day. He isn’t really trying to avoid seeing if Joker has answered him, he’s spending the day at Wayne Enterprises, and he tells himself he doesn’t have the time to keep an eye on his phone. He is aware of his phone buzzing with a reply half an hour before he plans to leave home.

Bruce doesn’t check his messages until he’s in his car.

_okay_

Bruce doesn’t ask how Joker wants the shirt to be delivered, but when he gets home he sets aside a shirt he doesn’t mind losing and he thinks Joker will like. He’s not sure when Joker will come for it, but he intends to keep the shirt safe for Joker to get when ever he feels like it.

Almost two months later and the shirt remains tucked safely in the corner of Bruce’s closet. Bruce had thought about sending Joker a text about it, but he’d fallen asleep before he’d arrived in a decision. He’d told himself he’d get back to it in the morning.

Bruce wakes up in the middle of the night, gasping for breath and covered in sweat, but with a more or less clear image of what had happened at Ace Chemicals. It takes him a couple of long minutes to fully process the confusing memories, but eventually he does, and he groans as his head thuds against the pillows.

He might have not completely screwed up but he could’ve dealt with it better. He’s not even entirely sure if his memories are true, and he thinks he doesn’t have all of them, but the basics of what happened are clear in his mind.

Bruce considers punching Joker the first chance he gets, and he considers tying him down and forcing him to have a normal conversation. They’ll be in big trouble if their fights will always be like that, assuming they still have a relationship to fight over. Bruce doesn’t want to think of what would happen if Joker were to leave him with all the knowledge he now has.

Bruce takes a deep breath, sits up, and grabs his phone. He’s going to just toe the line and see where they stand with each other.

_Do you still want cheesecake?_

Bruce falls back on the bed with his phone still in hand, and eventually drifts back to sleep.

He wakes up when his alarm going off hours later. He’s not ready to get up, but he’d promised Alfred he’d start getting back to his normal day rhythm, and that’s what he’s going to do. He doesn’t remember to check his messages until after he’s taken a shower.

_yes_

The answer is simple and it should ease Bruce’s mind, but instead it makes him anxious. He’s happy to have a chance to fix whatever is wrong between with him and Joker, but now that the chance seems imminent he’s not sure he’s ready for it. Bruce puts on clean, comfy clothes before hurrying to find Alfred to tell him of Joker’s message, and ask about the cake.

“I can have one ready tomorrow noon,” Alfred promises after Bruce has explained his current situation. Bruce thanks him and sends Joker a text asking if it’s alright with him.

Joker replies so quickly Bruce almost doesn’t believe it’s him, and the message says Bruce should bring the cake to his place. Bruce doesn’t mention it to Alfred.

 

* * *

 

 

“Absolutely not,” Alfred states, and holds on to the cheesecake as he stares Bruce down. Bruce pretends he doesn’t feel like a child being scolded.

“It’ll be fine. If he wanted me dead he would’ve killed me months ago,” he argues. He sees Alfred’s point, but he feels he has to do this on his own.

“I cannot, with good conscience, let you go see that madman on your own.” Alfred frowns, and Bruce feels some of his resolve melt away.

Bruce had promised Joker he’d be at his door come noon, and he’d hoped Alfred would understand where he’s coming from. On hindsight Bruce thinks he didn’t tell Alfred of his plan sooner because he knew Alfred would never be okay with it. He’s glad Tim and Dick aren’t there to team up with Alfred and possibly lock him up for temporary insanity.

“You can drive me there if it’s so important to you,” Bruce says, hoping the compromise will satisfy Alfred’s protective needs.

“And I will be accompanying you into the building,” Alfred replies, his tone leaving no room for arguing.

Bruce really should’ve picked this fight sooner.

“Fine. But only because I promised Joker I’d be there by noon and I’m about to be late,” he concedes with a deep sigh. Alfred looks too happy with his victory for Bruce’s liking.

Bruce pulls on a light jacket and grabs the bag that holds the shirt he’d promised Joker all those months ago. His heart hammers in his chest and his palms turn clammy. Alfred goes to get the car and Bruce takes the moment to steady himself. He closes his eyes and counts to ten as he breathes. He gets himself under control before Alfred returns.

The drive to the city is filled with loaded silence. Bruce clings to the bag and the cake like they could protect him from the world, and he keeps his eyes on the passing buildings to avoid the glances Alfred throws his way. Alfred parks the car far too soon, and Bruce waits until he’s out of the car before taking a final calming breath and following him.

The building Joker lives in looks just like it did the last time Bruce saw it, and somehow it’s worse than if it was different. He thinks it’s supposed to look different. It should have a post war feel to it, but it doesn’t.

Bruce stands there, on the sidewalk, staring at the building, unable to move and hating the sight before him. If he goes inside it means something. If he asks Alfred to take him home it will mean something too, and Bruce isn’t sure which choice would be worse.

“Shall we go, then?” Alfred asks, giving Bruce an encouraging if forced smile.

Bruce takes a deep breath and nods to himself before turning to give Alfred a shaky smile in return. He can do this.

Bruce lets Alfred take the lead, and he follows a few steps behind. The bag in his hands feels heavy, and he thinks he would drop the cake if Alfred hadn’t taken it from him. The stairs seem to go on forever. Maybe Bruce should buy the building and install an elevator. Joker might not appreciate it though. They would have to talk about it first.

They reach the floor where Joker’s apartment is, and Alfred waits for Bruce to take the lead. Bruce doesn’t want to, but Alfred is giving him that raised eyebrow that means he doesn’t have a choice.

The only sound Bruce hears is his heart thrumming in his ears.

Bruce stops in front of Joker’s door. He thinks he’s going to have a heart attack before he can even knock. Or maybe Joker is going to be waiting on the other side with a machine gun. Maybe this was all a ploy to get Bruce there to die. He raises his fist and swallows. He can do this.

The door opens before Bruce’s fist can connect with it. Jonny and Bruce stare at each other in dumbfounded silence for a second before Bruce lowers his fist and Jonny steps aside.

“Have fun,” Jonny says and walks past Bruce. He stops to offer Alfred a smile and a proper goodbye on his way down the stairs.

Bruce shakes his head and forces himself to relax. The last time he saw Joker might have been a disaster, but he and Joker have had disastrous meetings before, and they’ve moved past those. They can do it again now. Bruce glances at Alfred, and the encouraging nod he receives makes him feel a little better.

The sound of the television is the first thing Bruce pays attention to. The second thing is the smell of strong coffee. Bruce points Alfred to the direction of the kitchen and heads to the living room where the television is blaring. He’s figures he shouldn’t be surprised to find Joker tangled in a dozen brightly colored skipping ropes, trying to free himself.

Bruce stops. It’s such an unexpectedly Joker-like thing that Bruce can’t help but smile and relax. He moves until he’s in Joker’s field of vision, and Joker stops his squirming.

“For the love of everything that’s still good in this world, please tell me you own a less douchey pair of shoes,” Joker says, his voice serious, and Bruce laughs quietly as he crouches down to Joker’s level.

“Five pairs, actually,” he answers, and smiles at Joker, enjoying the familiar warmth and calm slowly filling him.

Joker nods, looking tense even as he tries not to. “Great. We’re burning those.”

“You want to burn my shoes?” Bruce laughs, getting another nod as a response. He shakes his head as a foreign feeling grin spreads on his face. He’d missed this. “As long as you’ve got another pair for me to borrow.”

“Take Jonny’s shoes,” Joker says, and returns to trying to discreetly free his arms from the mess of rope he’s stuck in. Bruce gives him a minute before he sighs and offers him a small smile.

“You need help?”

Joker stills and chews his lip, his eyes avoiding Bruce. Eventually he gives Bruce a short, sharp nod. Bruce doesn’t say anything. He reaches for the rope tangled in Joker’s hair, and gets it free. Joker still refuses to meet his eyes, but at least he’s okay with Bruce touching him again. Small steps and all that, Bruce tells himself.

“I’d get free myself but my thumb is stuck and this situation doesn’t really call for my Houdini skills,” Joker says, and Bruce hums an agreement indulgently.

Bruce helps Joker get his fingers free from the rope. The brief touches they share burn his skin with comfortably tingling fire, and Bruce lets his fingers linger for a second longer than he probably should. He can feel Joker staring at the side of his face, but he stays thankfully quiet.

“Alfred has the cake. He took it to the kitchen,” Bruce says to break the heavy silence. Joker nods in response and chews his lip. Bruce isn’t sure if he should be worried about Joker’s silence, but in the end he decides to give him a little more time to get used to having Bruce around again.

“You didn’t wanna be alone with me?” Joker’s lips curl into a sardonic smile.

“Alfred didn’t want me to be alone with you,” Bruce corrects him. “I would’ve fought him off but he used to be a secret agent and he looked ready to use his skills to hurt me if I didn’t let him chaperon.”

Joker snorts, and to Bruce’s relief it’s the amused kind of snort. “I’m pretty sure you could’ve taken him.”

“He worked for the secret service and he raised me. He’s like a butler ninja with the protection that comes from being a parent figure,” Bruce argues. It gets Joker to laugh, and finally meet Bruce’s eyes. Bruce finishes freeing Joker from the rope to prevent himself from saying or doing anything stupid.

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” Bruce says softly. He twists the rope in his hands to busy himself, and looks at Joker with the most sincere expression he can muster. Joker frowns and clicks his tongue, and Bruce sits still while Joker regards him with a thoughtful expression.

“I’m sort of sorry I almost killed you,” Joker offers eventually, and Bruce smiles at him. It’s more than he thought he’d get out of Joker, and he’s satisfied with it, at least for now.

Bruce nudges Joker’s shoulder. “How about we start over?”

Joker thinks it over before shrugging and offering Bruce a sweet smile. “Sure.”

Bruce wants to run his fingers through Joker’s hair, but he doesn’t. Instead he stand up and offers Joker his hand. Joker eyes it for a second before accepting it, and Bruce pulls him off the ground. Joker pulls away from him a little too fast, Bruce lets him go, even if it hurts him just a little, and follows him to the kitchen.

Alfred is petting Pumpkin on the floor, and though his expression hardens when he sees Joker he remains quiet. Joker, to Bruce’s relief, makes a beeline for the cake on the counter, barely glancing in Alfred’s direction.

Bruce has to dodge Pumpkin so she doesn’t nib his ankles, and he smiles at Alfred as he passes him. Alfred relaxes a little and offers Bruce an encouraging nod. Bruce focuses on Joker, and sighs when he sees that Joker has pulled out a spoon and is digging into the cake without bothering to get a slice on a plate.

Joker stops with the spoon still in his mouth when he sees Bruce staring, and his eyes darts from the cake to Bruce and Alfred. He pulls the spoon from his mouth with a wet pop.

“There’s more spoons in the drawer,” he says before scooping more cake up.

Bruce shakes his head and pulls them plates from the cupboard. Alfred declines the offered plate, so Bruce puts it back in the cupboard and gets himself a spoon. Joker isn’t happy to have his cake eating interrupted, but he lets Bruce cut him a large slice anyways. Bruce gets himself a smaller slice, and while Joker hops on the counter Bruce sits by the table.

“You know, you could take her to the park,” Joker says to Alfred. “Pinky promise I won’t kill him.”

Joker stuffs his mouth full of cake and grins at Alfred. Bruce expects Alfred to refuse, but instead he turns to Bruce with a questioning look.

“We’ll be fine,” Bruce assures Alfred, and he’s a little surprised to find he actually means it.

“I’ll keep my phone on,” Alfred says, but he does head to the door and, with one last suspicious glare at Joker, he leaves the room with Pumpkin in tow. Joker and Bruce remain quiet while Pumpkin yaps at the front door excitedly before it opens, and then closes.

The silence turns more awkward after that.

Joker offers Bruce a cup of coffee, and Bruce accepts it with a quiet thank you. Neither one of them say anything, but at least in Bruce’s case it’s more a matter of not knowing what to say. If the way Joker keeps averting his eyes is any indication he’s having a similar problem.

Bruce can’t stop staring though. Joker looks slightly thinner than usual, but his makeup is more or less in place, and though his clothes are crumbled Bruce thinks it’s got more to do with the skipping rope than any lack of maintenance on Joker’s part. Bruce averts his eyes when Joker glances at him, not wanting to get caught staring.

“So what are we doing today?” Joker asks suddenly, and Bruce sips his coffee to buy himself a second.

“We could watch a movie or something?” Bruce closes his eyes briefly at his hesitant voice.

Joker rolls his eyes, but his smile is almost fond. “Sounds fun. I’ve got Eddie’s Netflix password.”

Joker cuts himself a new slice of cake while Bruce fills their coffee cups. Bruce follows Joker to the couch, and though they keep more distance between them than usual it’s still somewhere in the vicinity of comfortable.

Joker’s phone buzzes halfway through the movie, but he ignores it. Bruce’s phone beeps a few seconds later, and he glances at Joker before seeing what’s going on. He’s a little surprised to see Alfred has texted him, and even more surprised to see the text inform him that Alfred is having a cup of tea with Jonny. Bruce pockets the phone with a confused crease on his brow. He’s happy Alfred doesn’t have to wait in the car or loiter on the streets, but him spending time with Jonny isn’t something he was expecting.

By the end of the movie Joker has stretched out so that his feet are pressed against Bruce’s thigh. Bruce doesn’t dare to move until Joker pulls his feet back as he sits up and reaches for the remote.

“Wanna watch another one?”

Bruce shrugs. “Sure.” He hopes Alfred will understand and that Jonny is good company.

Joker picks a superhero movie, and Bruce feels like it’s supposed to be a joke of some kind. He makes sure to enjoy the movie.

Joker gets up halfway through and skips to the kitchen, and returns a few minutes later with two plates of cake. He hands Bruce his plate without a word before returning to his spot and stretching his legs out until they’re pressing against Bruce’s thigh. Bruce tries to ignore the heat that single point of contact sends through his body.

“How you’ve been?” Bruce asks when the end credits roll.

Joker shrugs. “Fine.”

Bruce bites his lip and considers his next move. Joker turns the television off before focusing on twirling his spoon. The silence feels awkward but neither one of them seem to be able to break it.

“Should I be going now?” Bruce asks, not sure what he wants the answer to be.

Joker takes a deep breath and tilts his head. “No.”

“Then what are we going to do next?” Bruce turns to fully face Joker.

Joker bites his lip and regards Bruce with an characteristically serious frown on his face. Bruce remains still and keeps his own expression open. He doesn’t know what Joker is thinking, but he hopes to find out soon.

“Why’d you lie to me?” Joker asks, and it’s not what Bruce expected. He clears his throat, telling himself this is a conversation they have to have if they want to ever move forward.

“At first I didn’t want you to kill me,” Bruce starts, and Joker shrugs, his expression understanding if amused. “Then I just got used to what we had, and then you had to be you and I didn’t want to give that up. I guess, I was afraid of what would happen if you knew the truth.”

Joker regards Bruce with a blank expression. “You are so lame it’s bordering on cute. Stop. I wanna be mad with you.”

Bruce rubs his neck and looks away.

“I wanted to tell you the truth, but it just never seemed like the right time. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Bruce risks a glance at Joker, and the contemplative frown that he sees isn’t what he was expecting.

“You already knew though, didn’t you?”

Joker glares at Bruce and shakes his head minutely. “Don’t underestimate my ability to ignore things. I wanted you to be you.”

Bruce huffs and reaches over the couch to grasp Joker's hands. Joker tenses, but to Bruce’s relief he doesn’t try to pull away.

“I’m still me. I’ve never been anything but myself with you,” he says, his voice dead serious. “We don’t have to keep bringing it up if you don’t want to, but we’ll both be better off if we acknowledge the truth. This way neither one of us accidentally does something to hurt the other.”

Bruce considers his next words, a smile playing on his lips. “Besides, now I don’t have to pretend to be the most accident prone billionaire in the world.”

Joker snorts, and it makes Bruce’s smile widen. Joker runs his fingers along Bruce’s hands and inclines his head, smiling more to himself than at Bruce, but he’s smiling and that’s what matters.

Bruce wishes they could have talked things over like this the first time around. He lets Joker think, keeping an eye on the minute shifts in his expression ranging from annoyed to defeated. If Joker wasn’t gently grasping Bruce’s hands Bruce would run his fingers through his hair.

“Okay, but you’re not allowed to use what you know about me against me. And this is a safe house and you’ll never come here in that stupid getup of yours, or tell anyone about this place. Especially not the cops,” Joker says.

“I can live with that,” Bruce replies.

“And you can’t lock me up for anything I do when you’re not playing a giant rodent,” Joker continues. It’s not as easy for Bruce to agree to.

“Then you’re not allowed to kill or maim anyone in front of me. And no major property destruction either,” Bruce says. If Joker is setting his rules then Bruce has the right to do the same.

Joker bites his lip and narrows his eyes. “Fine,” he replies eventually.

Bruce relaxes, and for a moment the silence around them is comfortable. Then Joker chuckles, and soon he’s dissolving into laughter. Bruce raises a confused eyebrow at him.

“I can’t believe I got you into a car chase with your birdies,” Joker laughs. Bruce fights back a smile. “I can’t believe I’m dating a furry,” Joker continues.

“I’m not a furry,” Bruce says, his voice bordering on indignant. Joker laughs and shakes his head.

“You dress up as an animal on daily basis. You’re a furry.” Joker grins sweetly at Bruce.

“And what does that makes you?” Bruce counters, and Joker stops giggling, his expression turning thoughtful.

“I’m confident in my sexuality and open to new things. Nothing can phase me,” he replies with a proud expression that matches his tone, and sits up straighter. Bruce snorts, and without really thinking what he’s doing he pulls his hands free from Joker’s hold and grasps his neck instead, pulling him into a kiss.

Joker lets out a mildly alarmed noise. He’s too tense, and Bruce immediately regrets what he’s done. He’s about to pull away and apologize when Joker relaxes and kisses him back. It’s hesitant and slow at first, but soon they fall into the familiarity of each other. Joker sighs into the kiss and tangles his fingers in Bruce’s hair.

It’s not enough, and Bruce pushes Joker into the cushions. Joker laughs as he wraps his legs around Bruce and pulls him closer, and for a moment it’s almost like everything is fine. Bruce melts against Joker as he moves from kissing him to mouthing his throat. Joker still likes it.

Up until the point he shakes his head and shoves Bruce away. Bruce stares at him, confused and a little miffed at the sudden change, but he’s not going to push if Joker wants to stop.

“I’m still mad at you,” Joker reminds Bruce, and though Bruce thinks it’s not Joker’s greatest excuse he doesn’t say anything.

“Should I go now?” He asks instead, intending to respect Joker’s decision no matter what.

Joker nods, but his eyes are soft and Bruce knows they’re going to be fine. He grabs Joker’s hand and places a kiss on his knuckles before standing up and saying goodbye. Joker wiggles his fingers at him and smiles, and Bruce leaves him with a one last glance over his shoulder.

 

* * *

 

 

They fall into a habit of sending texts to each other, mostly telling how their days are going. Sometimes Joker sends Bruce pictures. Once, when Tim and Dick were having trouble with a case, Bruce called Joker to ask his opinion on it, and Joker let Bruce know where their guy was as long as Bruce would personally deliver him flowers and coffee the next morning.

“I don’t like him,” Joker replies when Bruce asks why he gave up the dealer. He accepts the flowers and coffee, and if Bruce wasn’t in such a hurry to get to work he would accept Joker’s the invitation to join him for breakfast. Joker pouts, but he lets Bruce go.

Bruce continues to go on patrols, and though he’s worried about running into Joker it doesn’t happen. He suspects Joker is more or less purposefully avoiding him, and he appreciates it. He doesn’t want to start a fight with him on the first days after they’ve truly started to fix their relationship.

He’s contemplating the pros and cons between a sandwich and toast before patrol when his phone rings. Bruce picks it up without checking to see who’s calling.

“Now that we’ve established what your nightly hobbies are I was hoping you’d do me a favor,” Joker says without bothering to greet Bruce. It’s familiar and it makes Bruce smile.

“Depends on what you want,” Bruce replies and settles on the toast.

“There’s a baby mobster trying to screw over Happy’s kid and I’d deal with it but I got addicted to this show and I really don’t wanna get up,” Joker explains, his voice a little too sweet.

Bruce nods. “I can look into it,” he agrees.

“Great. Apparently he’s a fan of Luigi’s Pizza so you should start there. Look for a short guy with a limp and bad fashion choices,” Joker says and hangs up. Bruce pockets his phone and gets back to making his toast.

It doesn’t take much to find the mobster Joker had talked about, and soon enough Bruce has him in police custody from breaking actual laws and not just because Joker asked. Thankfully the man had poor understanding of secrecy when it came to his blackmailing business.

He texts Joker to let him know the mobster has been dealt with, and gets a smiley face in response. Bruce chuckles and goes on with his patrol.

Tim and Dick are, to Bruce’s surprise, optimistically cautious about Bruce’s renewed communication with Joker. Barbara isn’t happy about it, but after a conference with everyone except Bruce she agrees to continue assisting Bruce as long as she doesn’t have to deal with anything Joker related. Bruce is more than happy to comply.

Bruce is perching on the rooftop of an old apartment building that is in the process of being converted into an office space, letting his mind drift as the night goes on quietly. The sounds of the street don’t quite cover the soft flaps of his cape in the wind.

Joker has been quiet for a few days, and Bruce worries it has something to do with his request for them to get together. He’d meant for them to have dinner and nothing more, but Joker had never returned his message. Bruce doesn’t worry about it too much, mostly because the sudden absences are something he knows he can expect from Joker. Besides, they’d agreed to tell each other if they were angry or upset, and since Joker had done nothing of the sorts Bruce convinces himself Joker is just in a middle of one of his projects.

Dick and Tim stop by to make sure Bruce doesn’t need help, but they have their own investigation going on and they want to get back to it. They decline the help Bruce offers them, saying they can handle it on their own. Bruce watches them go with a soft smile tugging at his lips before focusing on the view below him.

He’s been observing the comings and goings of the small restaurant for a few days now. He thinks the owners have a mob connection, and that the restaurant is a front to either a gambling ring or money laundering, but he can’t be sure until he has something more concrete than the whispers he’d heard on the streets.

The rock that hits the back of Bruce’s skull is something he wasn’t expecting, and he swirls around, ready for a fight. He stops when he sees Joker tossing a small rock into the air with a playful smile on his lips. Bruce doesn’t dare to move or speak.

“The money laundering doesn’t actually happen there. You’re like, five miles off from that place,” Joker says, and when Bruce doesn’t say anything he stops tossing the rock and waves at the ground below them.

“I saw you brooding here an hour ago. Thought you could use some sugar,” he says as he goes through his pockets, and pulls out a bag of sweets. He offers them to Bruce, and the smile on his face is friendly enough to let Bruce know his health is in no danger. Bruce is still a little wary as he approaches Joker.

“Thanks,” he says as he accepts the offered gummy bear, and after a second of hesitation he decides not to return to the ledge.

“So where does the money laundering happen?” He asks, going for causal, though if the look on Joker’s face is any indication he doesn’t quite succeed.

“I could tell you,” Joker muses and pops a gummy bear into his mouth. “Not sure if it would benefit me much though.”

Bruce takes in the playful gleam in Joker’s eyes and relaxes. It’s almost familiar, and he knows how this game works already. “What do you want?” He asks and steals another gummy bear from Joker.

Joker cocks his head from side to side, pretending to consider it. “Surprise me.”

Bruce gives Joker an unimpressed look, for once disappointed that his cowl hides the full effect of it. He steps closer to Joker and pulls him into a hug, and wraps his cape around Joker for good measure. Joker’s eyes widen minutely before a bright grin lights up his face and he throws his arms around Bruce.

It’s nice, just like Bruce always thought it could be, and he relishes the chance to hold Joker close to him. Joker lets out a happy sigh and Bruce rests his chin on top of his head.

“You think we’ll be okay?” Joker asks, his voice so quiet Bruce almost doesn’t hear him.

Bruce considers it. He thinks, that with time, they’ll fix their relationship. They’re certainly having a good start at it.

“Yeah. We’ll be okay,” he replies.

“Good.” Joker nuzzles against Bruce’s chest, the bag of gummy bears rustling in his hands.

An idea strikes Bruce. This is what Joker always wanted, even if he didn’t want Bruce and Batman to be the same person. Maybe the trick is to make things fun for Joker in a new kind of way. Maybe it will also be the key to making sure Joker stays out of trouble and stops murdering people whenever he feels like it. And besides, he’s supposed to be surprising Joker.

Bruce pulls away, and Joker lets out an alarmed noise and pouts at him.

“Run,” Bruce says, and tries not to smile.

Joker frowns, and stuffs the gummy bears into his pocket. “Why?”

“I’ll chase you, and when I catch you you can tell me where the money laundering takes place,” Bruce replies.

Joker’s frown turns into a wide grin. “Sounds fun.”

Bruce figured Joker would enjoy his idea. Joker starts backing away slowly, grinning at Bruce the whole time. Bruce lets him go. He’s about to tell Joker he’ll get a head start when Joker rushes back up to him and pulls him into a heated kiss that Bruce is all too happy to reciprocate. He tangles his fingers in Joker’s hair and pulls him closer, trying to let him know everything Bruce feels for him in that one single kiss.

Joker tastes like gummy bears and cigarettes.

Joker pulls away, his eyes dark with lust. “So that’s what it’s like,” he breathes, a smile playing on his lips as he wipes the lipstick from Bruce’s face with his thumb.

Bruce would remind Joker that they’ve done a lot more than kissing, but it’s Joker, and he’s probably imagined of that particular kiss many times, so he lets him have his moment of bliss.

Joker giggles as he backs away again, and Bruce can’t help but smile a little.

“I’ll let you get to the streets,” Bruce says.

Joker nods, and covers his mouth to muffle his laughter. His back hits the door to the maintenance staircase, and Bruce watches him fumble to pull it open before he disappears through it. Bruce waits a few seconds before going to the ledge and waiting until he spots Joker dashing into an alleyway.

Bruce takes a deep breath and dives off the ledge, falling freely through the air until he grapnels the side of the opposite building and directs his glide after Joker’s shadow disappearing around the corner.

It’s familiar and new, and Bruce smiles as he rushes after the sound of Joker’s laughter ringing brightly in the cool night air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna thank you peeps for reading this, and I do hope you've enjoyed this.
> 
> Feel free to bother me on [tumblr](https://saremina.tumblr.com) if you want.


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